Source: Filip Chytil suffers setback at Rangers' morning skate
The Rangers' Filip Chytil practices during training camp in Tarrytown, N.Y. Credit: Corey Sipkin
Just when it seemed the Rangers were about to get a boost from the return of center Filip Chytil, he suffered a setback at their optional morning skate at Madison Square Garden on Friday.
Chytil skated with extras Zac Jones and Jake Leschyshyn and was taking part in some light “battle drills,’’ according to reporters who were there. But sometime during his workout, Chytil needed to be helped off the ice by teammates.
“Fil suffered a setback with regard to the injury that he was dealing with,’’ coach Peter Laviolette said after the Rangers’ 5-2 loss to Vegas on Friday night at the Garden. “He was evaluated this morning. And continues to be evaluated. He’s at his house here in New York.’’
Chytil, who missed his 38th game Friday, is believed to be suffering from the effects of a concussion, though the Rangers have identified the injury only as an upper-body injury.
Chytil had just returned to skating with the team at practice Thursday for the first time since he left a Nov. 2 game against Carolina after an inadvertent collision with former teammate Jesper Fast.
He had been skating by himself since mid-November, but when he had not progressed to the point of being able to skate with the team by late December, the Rangers allowed him to go home to the Czech Republic to see if that would help his rehabilitation efforts.
Chytil returned to New York on Monday while the Rangers were on their four-game trip to the West Coast.
“It’s great to see him back out there,’’ Vincent Trocheck said Thursday. “Obviously, he’s been going through a lot, so we’ve all been worried about him, and glad to see him back in there.’’
Chytil’s inability to return is a big problem for the Rangers, who are 11-12-2 in their last 25 games. The team had been looking forward to having him back to fill a hole at third-line center that has existed since he first left the lineup.
Nick Bonino, a shot-blocking, defensive-minded forward, had been centering the third line for most of the last two-plus months but hadn’t been able to provide much in the way of offense. With Chytil looking ready to return, the Rangers placed Bonino on waivers on Thursday. Bonino was assigned to their AHL Hartford team after he cleared waivers Friday afternoon, though a source said he wasn’t being required to report there right away.
he question for the Rangers now is if they don’t have Chytil, how can they address their third-line center problem?
If they shut him down for the season and leave him on long term injured reserve, they can use the money that his salary counts against the salary cap to create cap space to allow them to trade for someone. If they think he can return, though, and they can’t keep him on long term injured reserve, their options will be limited.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
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