Filip Chytil Nears Return After Another Long Road Back from Injury
Filip Chytil has been here before. Too many times, in fact. But this time, there’s a cautious optimism surrounding the 26-year-old center as he inches closer to returning to NHL action for the first time since October 19.
After missing three months with what the Vancouver Canucks listed as an upper-body injury - widely suspected to be yet another concussion - Chytil is finally back at full practice. The next hurdle: getting into a game. There’s no set date yet, but the signs are encouraging.
“I’m very happy [that] I’m very close to being back,” Chytil told reporters Sunday, his voice carrying both relief and anticipation.
Canucks head coach Adam Foote echoed that sentiment, clearly pleased to see Chytil smiling and skating again.
“He seems so happy, been around him a lot, and he seems real confident,” Foote said. “So, it’s nice to see him feel that, right? He seems like he’s in a real good place.”
That’s not a small thing. Chytil’s journey has been anything but smooth.
His latest setback came on a thunderous open-ice hit from Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson back in October. The hit didn’t target the head, but it was heavy enough to knock Chytil off his skates and out of the lineup.
“Of course, the hit was a little bit late, but it’s part of the game,” Chytil said, reflecting on the play. “When I look back, there are details I could do different, but in that speed, in that moment, you’re not thinking about those too much.
That hit is behind me now. I can learn from it … I just have to work on how to avoid those hits.”
For Chytil, learning to navigate the physical toll of the NHL has become a recurring theme. Not long after being traded from the Rangers to the Canucks in the J.T. Miller deal last season, he took a blindside hit against Chicago and missed the remainder of the season with another head injury.
Still, he came into this season with a clean slate and a renewed sense of purpose. He looked sharp out of the gate, notching three goals in his first six games before the Wilson hit derailed things once again.
“It was early in the year, but he was really good,” Foote said.
That early-season flash was a reminder of the player Chytil can be when healthy - a skilled, two-way center with offensive upside and the ability to drive play. Back in 2022-23, he posted career-highs across the board with 22 goals, 23 assists, and 45 points in 74 games for the Rangers.
But since then, it’s been a frustrating stretch. He managed only 10 games last season due to lingering concussion symptoms and setbacks.
Before the trade, he had 11 goals and 20 points in 41 games for New York, and added two goals and six points in 15 games with Vancouver before the injury that cut his season short.
Now, with the Canucks in the midst of a brutal stretch - winless in their last 11 games and sitting at the bottom of the NHL standings - Chytil’s return could be a much-needed spark. Vancouver is 16-28-5 and has just 37 points to show for a season that’s been defined by roster turnover and unmet expectations.
The team has already moved on from key pieces. Captain Quinn Hughes was shipped to Minnesota in a headline-grabbing trade earlier this season, and on Monday, forward Kiefer Sherwood was dealt to San Jose. Rumors continue to swirl around Elias Pettersson as the March 6 trade deadline approaches.
In that context, getting Chytil back on the ice isn’t just a feel-good story - it’s a chance to inject talent and stability into a lineup that badly needs both.
“It’s been a long three months, a lot of hard work behind me,” Chytil said. “Just now I need some more practices with my teammates and whenever I’m ready, I’m going to be back and I can’t wait for that day.”
There’s a deeper emotional layer to all of this, too. Chytil spoke candidly about the toll the past two years have taken - not just physically, but emotionally and personally. The missed games, the missed milestones, the missed opportunities.
“From the beginning, it was very hard, because I was hopeful that I can manage to play all 82 games, but it wasn’t the case,” he said. “Sometimes it’s the days like this, the last two years, that have been very hard for myself and for my wife, for my family, especially.
I missed so many events, I missed so many games in NHL, now I’m gonna miss Olympics as well. So, it sucks, but it is what it is.”
It’s the kind of raw honesty that reminds you just how human these athletes are beneath the gear and the stat lines. For Chytil, the road back isn’t just about hockey - it’s about reclaiming a part of his life that’s been out of reach for too long.
And if this comeback sticks, it could be a turning point - for him and for a Canucks team that could use a reason to believe.