Why former Rangers center nearly was traded 2nd time before deadline
Apparently Filip Chytil’s whirlwind season could’ve taken another major turn shortly after he was traded by the New York Rangers to the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 31.
Reportedly just five weeks after the Rangers moved the 2017 first-round pick, Chytil was nearly flipped by the Canucks to the Ottawa Senators as part of a package to land center Josh Norris.
“The Canucks were pretty close on Josh Norris with the Ottawa Senators at the time. It would’ve been Filip Chytil and it would’ve been a draft pick that would’ve gone the way of the Ottawa Senators,” NHL insider Darren Dreger told the Sekeres and Price podcast this week. “I don’t know why that came unglued. I know at the time that was a player (then Canucks coach) Rick Tocchet really liked. Fit the system, the style of play, can skate. All of those things.”
Ultimately, the Senators did trade Norris, just not to the Canucks. They moved him right before the NHL Trade Deadline on March 7 along with defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker to the Buffalo Sabres for center Dylan Cozens, defenseman Dennis Gilbert and a second-round pick in the 2025 draft.
When Chytil was acquired from the Rangers as part of the return for J.T. Miller, he was excited for the opportunity to be the second-line center behind Elias Pettersson. His ice-time with the Canucks increased by two minutes (to 16:42) from what he received as the third-line center with the Rangers, and Chytil got more of a chance to play on the power play, too.
Chytil scored a goal in his Canucks debut against the Detroit Red Wings on Feb. 2 and had five points (one goals, four assists) in his first seven games after the trade. Yet, despite the positive reviews from Tocchet and Co., it appears behind the scenes the Canucks were looking to use Chytil to make an upgrade at 2C.
Norris had 20 goals in 53 games heading into the trade deadline and scored 35 goals for the Senators in 2021-22. Chytil set NHL career highs with 22 goals, 23 assists and 45 points in 2022-23 and had 11 goals and 20 points in 41 games before the Rangers shipped him off to Vancouver.
Related: Rangers reportedly in ‘advanced discussions’ with Ducks about Chris Kreider trade
Filip Chytil played just 15 games after being traded by Rangers due to concussion
Despite not being traded again before the deadline, Chytil’s season still took a sideways turn. Chytil sustained a concussion in a game against the the Chicago Blackhawks on March 15 and didn’t play again the rest of the season. Chytil had one point (goal) in his final eight games and finished with six points (two goals, four assists) in 15 games with the Canucks.
Reportedly Chytil was feeling better by the end of the season, even though the Canucks were cautious with the 25-year-old and continued to hold him out of the lineup because of his prior history with head injuries. Chytil had several concussions with the Rangers, and played only 10 regular-season games in 2023-24 due to a frightening head injury.
So, Chytil is once again dealing with familiar health issues this offseason, compounded by the fact it appears the Canucks tried to trade him mere weeks after acquiring him. It’d appear that the Canucks view him now as a 3C because there are rumors swirling that they’re shopping for a better 2C this summer.
“William Karlsson is probably on the Bingo card if Vegas is willing to part with him. He’d probably be on the card for a lot of teams around the NHL because there are a lot of teams in the market for centers, including, of course, the Vancouver Canucks, who have a pretty significant hunger for that position,” Dreger explained.
Like the Rangers, the Canucks surprisingly missed the playoffs this past season and have a new coach. Adam Foote replaced Tocchet, who stepped down and moved on to become coach of the Philadelphia Flyers.
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