Vancouver Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet met with the media ahead of Sunday nights contest against the with an update on forward Filip Chytil:
Tocchet shared that Chytil would miss tonight’s game against the Utah Hockey Club with a concussion. He mentioned that Chytil is feeling okay but is in concussion protocol.
They will monitor him over the following two days before deciding if he will join the Canucks on their six game road trip against the St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Columbus Blue Jackets and Winnipeg Jets.
Chytil was injured late in the third period of Saturday night’s match against the Chicago Blackhawks. Former Canuck Jason Dickinson blindsided Chytil and crunched him right in the numbers against the boards, whipping his neck back and hitting hit head on the boards.
The hit left Chytil on the ice for several seconds before he found the strength to get to his knee. He would stumble in an effort to stand up but would ultimately make it to the bench under his own power. Chytil went straight down the bend and to the locker room.
Dickinson was not assessed a penalty, suspension or fine for the incident.
Chytil was the main piece in the return coming back from the Rangers in the JT Miller trade – the Canucks also acquired Victor Mancini and a 2025 top-13 protected first-round pick. He has played 15 games in a Canucks sweater, scoring two goals and four assists for six points with 44 shots on goal and a minus-11 rating in 16:41 minutes of average ice time.
The former first-round pick has dealt with concussions throughout his career. In the 2023-2024 season, Chytil was limited to just 10 games due to a concussion.
This leaves the Canucks with a massive hole down the centre of the ice, with just Elias Pettersson, Pius Suter, Teddy Blueger and Nils Aman as the only four centres on the roster.
Jonathan Lekkerimäki will re-enter the Canucks lineup for another must-win game against the Utah Hockey Club. With a regulation win tonight, the Canucks would put themselves four points up on the Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues and six ahead of their opponent tonight.