I've Had It With Filip Chytil...

RELAX Rangers fans. You didn’t let me finish.

I’ve had it with Filip Chytil…at center.

Let’s get the good stuff out of the way. I LOVE how this kid’s developing overall. The biggest change is his confidence. He’s no longer timid along the boards or hesitant to go to dirty areas. Fil knows he’s a big boy and is only gonna get stronger, which helps fuel that confidence boost. He’s been responsible with the puck, a tremendous skater, improving as a 200-foot player and obviously finishing more opportunities. Took him just 35 games to tie the 11 goals he buried over 75 games last year. If he keeps up his current goal pace he’d land top-25 among 20 year-olds over the last decade. That’s a very impressive number – and if he can tally 22 as a 20 year-old there’s no reason to believe we’re not gonna see some 30+ seasons out of #72 pretty soon. Especially if he can crack that top-six regularly.

I KNOW he’s still so young. I know – but we’re 123 NHL games in so I think there’s enough tangible evidence to start sizing up where Chytil fits on this squad for the future. I honestly just don’t see it up the middle, which is a big problem for an organization pretty light at the position. Who knows what ends up happening with Lias. Howden’s a winger now. They’ve got a couple kids in the system but they’re not near pro-ready. Right now there’s not much of a choice but to see if Chytil can make strides at the position. In the end though I just think his game projects way better as a wing. The first easy thing to gripe about is the fact that he’s horrendous at the dot. Only 3 regular centers in the league are sub-40% and Fil’s checking in at 37.5% (a drop from last year’s 38.9%). You can get away with being bad – but challenging for the worst is a problem. How much worse would that percentage be against top-six opposition? Yikes.

OK so who cares about face-offs…but what about his playmaking abilities? Centers are usually facilitators. Distributors. Playmakers who make their wings better. Chytil’s got 6 apples so far and piled up a mere 12 last year. Since last season, he’s dead last on the Rangers in 5×5 assists per-60 (.55) and it’s not even close. The next worst is Brett Howden checking in at .83 – and he’s not exactly an offensive dynamo. Top-six players should usually be around 1. Granted that comes in part due to playing with other top-six talent but it’s not like Howden’s been skating with Zib or Panarin regularly either. So why are Fil’s assist totals so low? Why aren’t his linemates scoring when he touches the puck? The top three teammates he’s skated with over the past season & a half are Kreider, Buch & Strome so he’s had ample time with very good options.

The answer, at least so far is simple – and it’s not a bad thing. Filip Chytil hasn’t shown much in terms of top-six center offensive skillset. You can even tell by watching. Forget the numbers. You just don’t see passes off his stick that are anything more than “maintain possession” passes. What he HAS shown is the ability to create scoring chances for himself – whether that’s taking pucks to the net or getting to open areas for teammates to find him. You know who else is like that? Chris Kreider. The Blueshirts are gonna need a replacement for him real soon and I have no doubt Chytil would skyrocket playing on Zib’s wing. There’s question marks surrounding Buchnevich. Kakko and Kravtsov need more seasoning. Fast and Lemieux shouldn’t be preferable top-six options. The best post-deadline winger on this squad not named Panarin is Filip Chytil. The longer NY tries to mold him into a center, in large part due to a lack of options, the longer they’re just delaying the inevitable.