Long overdue: Filip Chytil has cemented himself as the NY Rangers 2C

Filip Chytil has been in the NHL for so long, it feels like he’s a 30 year old veteran at this point. Indeed, it is Chytil’s 6th full season in the NHL, and 7th overall if you include the 9 game stint in 2017-2018 as an 18 year old. Yet Chytil is just 24 years old. It is now, his 6th full season and at age-24, when he has finally cemented himself as the Rangers 2C.

Chytil’s breakout season came last year, shattering prior career highs with 22 goals (prior high was 14), 23 assists (prior high was also 14), and 45 points (prior high was 23). His offense has always been solid, but he could never seem to put together the other aspects of his game to make a case for the 2C role. Now under Peter Laviolette, Chytil has pried that role away from Vincent Trocheck.

Chytil has always been one of the Rangers leaders in 5v5 scoring, dating back to his teenage years. This season is no different, as Chytil has a commanding 3.53 P/60 at even strength, almost a full point ahead of Artemi Panarin’s 2.72. His 6 assists this season, 5 at even strength, lead the team as well.

But as mentioned, Chytil has been putting up strong 5v5 scoring numbers most of his career. For three of the last four seasons, Chytil has been in the Rangers top-3 in P/60 at even strength. He’s been consistently in the top-third of team scoring, despite never getting a legitimate look on the powerplay.

To put this into context, Chytil’s career line is 64-80-144. Only 7-10-17 has come with the man advantage. He’s at a point per game this season despite having almost no powerplay time and playing just 16 minutes a night. The kid just produces, no matter what.

With Peter Laviolette at the helm, Chytil has finally been moved up to the 2C spot with Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere, and that trio has seemingly been in the offensive zone the entire time. They cycle, they shoot, they get open, and they simply dominate the opposition. Laviolette’s impact here is undeniable.

The Rangers needed Chytil to take over the 2C spot, as Vincent Trocheck is best served as a complementary scoring option, not a primary scoring option. Laviolette seems to be willing to let Chytil cook in offensive zone starts with Panarin and Laf, while Trocheck gets a 50/50 zone start split with Will Cuylle and Blake Wheeler.

For those that care, Chytil’s faceoff percentage jumped to 47% this year, up from 40% last year and well above his career average of 40.4%. See? Faceoffs can be taught.

Chytil’s growth into the 2C was long overdue, and it’s a sigh of relief that at least one of the kids has panned out. It’s a big step forward for both Chytil and the Rangers. Now imagine what he’d be able to do with more powerplay time?