Did former Rangers center sustain another head injury?: ‘I hope not’
Filip Chytil left the ice late in the second period of the Vancouver Canucks’ 6-2 loss to the Utah Mammoth on Monday night and didn’t finish the game. Whether or not the former New York Rangers center sustained yet another head injury wasn’t exactly clear after Canucks coach Adam Foote met with reporters postgame.
“He tweaked something. They [medical personnel] said he tweaked something and we’re going to evaluate it. Should know more [Tuesday],” Foote said after the game.
Then Foote was asked specifically if Chytil left the game due to a head injury.
“I hope not,” was the coach’s repsonse.
Oy. Not exactly the type response that will quell rumors or concerns about Chytil’s latest injury.
The 26-year-old already missed most of this season with a head injury, sustained on a bruising open-ice hit by Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson on Oct. 19. Chytil was out three months, finally returning Jan. 23 against the New Jersey Devils.
In six games back in the Canucks lineup, Chytil hasn’t looked like himself on the ice. He is pointless with just nine shots on goal, and is minus-seven. On Monday, Chytil was on ice for Utah’s two first-period goals; and his final shift with 3:55 remaining in the second period resulted in a goal by Mammoth forward J.J. Peterka.
It should be noted that there wasn’t an obvious moment Monday where it appeared Chytil got hurt. And “tweaked something” really could mean anything.
Chytil spoke out a couple weeks ago about “people who don’t know” the truth about his injury history, and specifically how many concussion he’s had. He clearly was annoyed about speculative stories and chatter “on the internet.”
But there’s no running from the fact that Chytil’s missed significant time over the course of his nine-season NHL career because of head injuries. Whether that’s concussions, neck issues, or other injuries, Chytil just can’t seem to stay on the ice, unfortunately.
A year ago, his season came to a premature end after the Rangers traded Chytil to the Canucks in December of 2024. Just three months later he was knocked out of a game against the Chicago Blackhawks and didn’t play again the rest of the 2024-25 campaign.
Of course, Chytil missed all but 10 regular-season games with the Rangers in 2023-24 following a concussion in November and ensuing setback in January of that season.
The history is not good. Hopefully this latest injury is unrelated and/or not nearly as scary.
