Just last season you couldn’t go more than a few games without hearing Filip Chytil’s name pop up in trade rumors. In his fourth NHL season it seemed like the young Rangers center still wasn’t figuring out how to consistently combine his lethal shot, big frame and hockey sense. Fast forward one massive playoff run and over half a season later and Chytilmania has forced himself out of the trade conversation and into the New York Rangers long term plans. Chris Drury has a lot of tough decisions to make as tough cap decisions loom and Chytil’s next contract will be at the forefront.
Chytil was a project pick when he was taken 21st overall at the 2017 NHL draft. Swedish prospect Lias Andersson, who the Rangers picked at seventh overall, was thought to be the more “NHL ready” of the two prospects. Andersson has since flamed out of the league after chances with both the Rangers and Los Angeles Kings.
Andersson’s lasting legacy on the Rangers? The pick he was traded for became current fourth liner Will Cuylle. Chytil’s legacy with the Rangers? It’s still being written and this current chapter is looking like the rest of the book is going to be something special.
Chytil, 23, previously had a career high of 23 points during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 NHL seasons. He always looked like he was just scratching the surface. This season, in just 42 games, he has shattered his previous career high and currently sits at 31 points. He has 18 goals (a career high) and is two assists away from setting a career high in that category as well.
After moving around the lineup a bit this season, since being rejoined with the “kid line” of himself, Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko, he has looked positively electric. He’s making good decisions on the ice, using his lethal shot –he might have the best wrister on the team after Kreider– when he gets into good scoring positions and seems more comfortable out there each and every game. Over his last four games,
No longer is Chytil’s name coming up in deals for other players. Now? His name is chanted in the Garden. Chytil has six goals and seven points in his last four games and it doesn’t look like he plans on slowing down. If he finished the season strong, a 25-30 goal season is certainly not out of the question. The only question remaining will be how Chris Drury keeps this kid around for the foreseeable future.
Part of that discussion is Chytil’s role as a hybrid second line/third line center role. With Vincent Trocheck signed for six more season, the second line center spot will not always be Chytil’s. He may still be moved around as his career progresses. Chytilmania may just prove to be too much of a force that he becomes this team’s defacto 2C, but for now, the kid line seems to be the team’s third line.
Drury is going to have to find a salary that works for all parties involved as well, for term and for AAV. Does Chytil want that long term deal now? Does he take a five, six or seven year deal to stay here in New York? Can the Rangers afford him for that long? Would he take another bridge deal?
With all these questions it can seem very worrying on Chytil’s future in New York. There is a reason to step back from the ledge, and the answers lie with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Lightning, with their powerhouse lineup, sign the guys who need to be signed and ultimately end up figuring it out in the end. The Lightning have been masters at finding bargain talent and using their young kids on cheap deals while designating cap space to their bigger names. These contracts always seem to find a taker in the end.
It would sting, but attaching a first rounder in this upcoming draft along with a contract, say Barlcay Goodrow’s, to another team for a quick $3.6 million in cap relief is one possibly path. Finding a taker for Jacob Trouba, who may not finish his career in NY with that deal, would be a tougher path but one that could be explored nonetheless.
As an aside, it took Chytilmania until year five to hit this impressive breakout. Patience has been a virtue with him. Fans and management alike should remember this for both Lafreniere and Kakko, both younger than Chytil.
Prospects are not all instant successes. We don’t just throw them on the ice and heat them up till they’re ready like food in the microwave. They need to be taught, nurtured, and allowed to make mistakes. They need to be allowed to carve out their niche in the NHL and Chytil has finally carved his out.
Four and a half seasons have now translated into a young center who looks ready to prove he is an impact NHL center. He is not just an important part of the NY Rangers’ future, but a necessary one. Whomever the Rangers trade for at this deadline, whether its Timo Meier, Vladimir Tarasenko, or someone else, Filip Chytil will not be going the other way.
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