Rangers contingency plan if this misfortune happens again
Any good company, much less professional hockey team, has contingency plans in place for when things go awry. The New York Rangers are no exception.
But are the Rangers really prepared if Filip Chytil sustains another head injury?
This is not wishing for anything bad to happen to Chytil, who’s had his fair share of health issues since entering the NHL in 2017-18. It’s more a case of addressing the elephant in the room and being prepared.
Chytil missed all but 10 regular-season games last season after sustaining an upper-body injury believed to be a concussion in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 2. There were several setbacks along the way and Chytil even returned home to Czechia before the Rangers announced in January that he was done for the regular season.
To his credit, the 25-year-old made it back to dress for six Stanley Cup Playoff games, six months after he was first sidelined. Though he clearly was not himself on the ice and failed to record a single point, it was a huge step for Chytil in his recovery and put him in a good place to prepare for the 2024-25 season.
“It was huge. I don’t know how many people expected that I’d be back,” Chytil said at Rangers breakup day in June. “That was great for me and my head that I was able to play.”
Chytil then vowed to be better than ever after a full summer of training.
But the Rangers must be realistic here. Chytil is believed to have had three or four concussions over the years. That’s a scary number. Even more frightening is how just when he appeared ready to amp things up in his recovery last season, he sustained setbacks.
So, there must be fear within the organization that Chytil is, perhaps, more susceptible to head injuries. And who’s to say if another such injury wouldn’t keep him out of the lineup for another extended period, or this time for good?
It’s a scary reality for the player and for the organization. And it’s general manager Chris Drury’s job to make sure the Rangers have a Plan B — even Plans C and D — should a regular player be injured. That’s even more so with one who has the injury history of Chytil.
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Do Rangers have plan in place if Filip Chytil is injured again?
In the best-case scenario, the Rangers are loaded down the middle at center. Mika Zibanejad, Vincent Trocheck and Chytil are a formidable top three at the position. Sam Carrick, who replaces Barclay Goodrow this season, is a solid and rugged fourth-line center.
This is a dynamic group if Chytil regains his 22-goal, 45-point form from 2022-23. The Rangers lacked production from the third line last season after Chytil was injured and Trocheck moved up to replace him in top six alongside Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere. That secondary scoring is invaluable, and Chytil — plus a rejuvenated Kappo Kakko on his wing — could make a major impact on the third line this season.
But if Chytil gets hurt again? Or worse, is laid low by another head injury? Then what?
Let’s examine what the Rangers’ contingency plans are if Chytil is injured this season.
Jonny Brodzinski
Likely the 13th forward on the opening-night roster, Jonny Brodzinski is the logical initial replacement for Chytil, if needed. That’s because he filled in adequately last season when Chytil was sidelined. The 31-year-old played an NHL career-high 57 games, bringing speed and a bit of sandpaper to the lineup.
However, Brodzinski is probably more of a fourth-line center than a consistent producer on the third line. He scored six goals and finished with 19 points last season. He’s more of a stop-gap than a long-term answer.
Sam Carrick
So, if Brodzinski is a better fourth-line option, could Carrick elevate up to the third line if Chytil is absent from the lineup?
Likely not.
Where Goodrow was able to play up on the third line last season, Carrick is not quite as equipped to do so. The 32-year-old is a better fit playing a physical game with limited minutes on the fourth line than being expected to produce a bit more offensively playing up with Kakko and either Will Cuylle or Jimmy Vesey.
Carrick did score 10 goals last season, so a third-line look if Chytil is sidelined isn’t completely out of the question. But it just doesn’t feel like a long-term solution.
Adam Edstrom or Matt Rempe
Each of these towering forwards can play center, and Matt Rempe has lobbied a bit for the opportunity to do so at some point in the future. The rub, though, is that each is seen as a fourth-line player, and more so as a wing than a center.
Adam Edstrom did score three goals in two rookie games this weekend and had two goals in 11 games with the Rangers last season. He’s a good skater for a player his size (6-foot-7) and has more offensive upside than Rempe. But it’s hard to imagine the Rangers going this route with either player on the third line.
Bo Groulx
A former second-round pick (No. 54 overall) by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2028 NHL Draft, Benoit-Olivier (Bo) Groulx signed with the Rangers as a free agent this offseason. The 24-year-old plays a heavy game, but has just one goal in 65 NHL games over the past three seasons.
However, he did score 31, 29 and 28 goals in the QMJHL and had 18 in 63 AHL games with San Diego two seasons ago. So, there’s a little something there, though his is a more physical game than that of a consistent scorer — certainly at the NHL level.
He could work his way up the depth chart, though, with a good start at Hartford this season.
Trade target like Alex Wennberg was last season
Speaking of Hartford, there’s veteran Riley Nash, who’s 35 and has 628 NHL games on his resume. There’s also Jake Leschyshyn, who is 10 years younger than Nash and has played 77 NHL games. However, neither was really an option last season after Chytil went down. Each center played just one game in New York.
Rookie pros Bryce McConnell-Barker and Dylan Roobroeck are just that: rookie pros. They need to marinade and grow in Hartford this season.
So, that leaves one other option. Make a trade. Perhaps waiting until right before the deadline in March, to land another center. That’s what the Rangers did last season. Chytil was injured in early November, and Brodzinski held things down from there until Alex Wennberg was acquired from the Seattle Kraken.
These are the contingency plans in place if there’s more misfortune with Chytil this season. Is it an adequate plan? The Rangers hope it doesn’t get put to the test and Chytil has a healthy, productive 2024-25 season.
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