We get back to the top-25 off-season questions with training camp a few weeks away. Several of the questions have been answered either through blogs or what has taken place in the draft and free agency. I have noted which ones I think we have covered either directly in blogs or by events during the timeframe noted above.
This column discusses question 3:
Is Filip Chytil a center or a winger??
25 Questions:
In almost every year past, we have done some version of the top 20 or so off-season questions. To state the obvious and what should be remembered by many, we usually have entered the late-spring and summer with more questions than answers. This year may be no different, despite what looks to be settled on the team. As done in year's past, I throw this one to you, asking for you to provide your questions, which I will incorporate in the blogs to carry us through the summer.
1) Will Ryan Strome or Andrew Copp be re-signed, and if one is to be brought back, which one do you prefer? (answered by the signing of Vincent Trocheck coupled with Strome now in Anaheim and Copp in Detroit)
2) Would you deal Kakko Kappo for a second or third line center and do you want that to be Kirby Dach? (somewhat answered with Dach now in Montreal, and Kakko signing a two-year dealbut Kakko still might get dealt)
3) Is Filip Chytil a center or a winger? (answered in current blog)
4) Did Alexis Lafreniere show enough to be moved to the top-six and do you view him as a first line right winger?
5) Would you buy out Patrik Nemeth or what would you package him with to free up his $2.5 million salary this year (and next)? (answered by the trade of Nemeth to Arizona
6) Who are you adding as Igor Shesterkin's back up once Alexandar Georgiev is moved? Can Keith Kinkaid and/or Adam Huska fill that spot? Do you add a veteran like Braden Holtby for $1 million? answered by the signing of Jaroslav Halak and Louie Domingue coupled with trade of Georgiev to Colorado.Kinkaid has signed with Boston and Holtby will miss the year with an injury
7) Should New York add a veteran blueliner or try Nils Lundkvist or Zac Jones or Matthew Robertson as the sixth d-man? Is the wiser course of action to do both? Answered in this blog
8) Is Vitali Kravtsov part of the future and will he be brought back to the US? (Covered here and here) plus, he reported early to be ready for training camp.
9) Would and should the Rangers really consider dealing Artemi Panarin as Arthur Staple hinted at in his column? (think we all know the answer to this one)
10) Will Brennan Othmann and/or Will Cuylle be given a REAL chance to make the squad this summer or will the Rangers opt to not rush the youngsters? Both are on their ELCs and are listed as LW. If they do make the roster, then who gets moved out?(TommyGTrain) Answered in this blog
11) Are the Rangers built to compete against Colorado for the Stanley Cup?
12) Is Gerald Gallant the right coach for this team moving forward?
13) How do you want the third and fourth lines to look? Do they need to be a traditional bottom-six or should the third line be more of a scoring line? Answered in this blog as well as below
14) Should New York consider buying out the final season of Ryan Reaves’ deal? (Factors include cap savings for this year and small amount of dead cap space in 2023-24) (think we have covered this in the past and pretty sure I have made my opinion clear)
15) Is acquiring Jonathan Toews under strong consideration by New York?
16) What does Jessica Campbell bring to the table and how important is her hiring? (covered here and now a moot point as she signed as an assistant coach with Anaheim's farm team)
17) Will Theo Fleury and Pat Verbeek make the Hall of Fame and what does their absence tell us about the voting process?
18)Should the Rangers deal Chris Kreider, and if so, what should be the targeted return?(covered here)
More to come
NHL.com is running their 32 in 32.
Saturday, they covered the Rangers. Below is what Dan Rosen wrote about Chytil as part as his Rangers overview:
Filip Chytil, who turns 23 on Sept. 5, is expected to resume his role as the third-line center after a breakout postseason.
Chytil had seven goals in 20 playoff games after scoring eight in 67 regular season games.
"That was more what I expected from myself during the season," Chytil said of his playoff success. "Finally in the playoffs it clicked and I finally played on a level that I expected before the season. That was a great experience to play with confidence."
A big part of Chytil's success in the playoffs came when he was playing with Kakko and Lafreniere. Gallant said New York's "Kid Line" could be reunited this season.
Sammy Blais and Vitali Kravtsov are also candidates to play with Chytil on the third line or anywhere in the top-nine forward group. Barclay Goodrow is an option too.
The salary cap may have played a part in where Chytil plays. If New York had cap room, it's quite possible that Paul Stastny could have been signed, especially at a $1.5 million salary. If that had occurred, Chytil would have moved to the wing. On the flip, presuming the cap room exists, Phil Kessel could have been brought in to provide needed depth at right wing at the same salary as Stastny. As we know, neither happened.
I will add that even if cap room did exist, the Rangers might have opted for the status quo. The driver for that decision would be to allow the younger kids, Lafremiere, Kravtsov and yes, Chytil, room to grow and step up to fill key roles. Adding veterans, even ones such as Stastny and/or Kessel. who would have lengthened and bettered the lineup would have restricted the opportunities for the quasi-neophytes. The flip though is that there is no safety net. If Kakko and Laf and Kravtsov and Chyil don't take steps forward, New York will need to run on the veterans and supplement at the deadline.
Chytil is in the second year of a two-year, $4.6 million contract. At the end of this season, he will be an RFA with arb rights. Needless to say it's a big year for Chytil., With Mika Zibanejad locked in until 2029-30 and Vincent Trochek inked this off-season to a deal through 2028-29, any chance of Chytil moving up into the 2c role, at least in the short-term, is likely gone. Even though the cap is expected to rise, I can't see Trocheck sliding down a line, even if he fails to build chemistry with Panarin.
Due to the Zib-Trocheck duo coupled with the need to lock up Laf and K'Andre Miller, each who will be RFAs as well after the season, a big year by Chytil quite likely prices him out of the Rangers' budget. A poor year creates other problems, as that would mean the third line has probably struggled, hurting the team on the ice. But unless the squad imports another third line center, Chytil is most stuck as a pivot, even though from what we have mostly seen, he is probably better suited to the wing. Chytil could end up at wing if the current options for the right side struggle, but if what we saw last playoffs is repeatable and sustainable, then he will remain at center and the Rangers should be in line for another solid season.
What say you? Is Chytil a wing or center? Irrespective of where he plays, is Chytil likely not in NY next season?
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