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Rangers report cards: Grading New York’s Centers

By Marvin Azrak

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 18: Mika Zibanejad #93 of the New York Rangers during warm up prior to the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 18, 2023 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 18: Mika Zibanejad #93 of the New York Rangers during warm up prior to the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 18, 2023 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 29: Erik Haula #56 of the New Jersey Devils keeps tabs on Filip Chytil #72 of the New York Rangers during the first period in Game Six of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 29, 2023 in New York, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 29: Erik Haula #56 of the New Jersey Devils keeps tabs on Filip Chytil #72 of the New York Rangers during the first period in Game Six of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 29, 2023 in New York, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Rangers report cards: Filip Chytil: A(B+)

What a massive year for the 23-year-old. He broke out and made his mark. It was the kind of season fans have been dreaming of since the Rangers picked him 21st overall back in the 2017 NHL Entry draft.

In 74 games this season, Chytil scored a whopping 22 goals and dished out 23 assists, making it a total of 45 points. That’s a huge deal, especially for a 23-year-old. He landed in the sixth spot for team production. It was expected that the Rangers would need their young guns to step it up, and boy, did Chytil ever deliver on that front.

Even if he didn’t put a single puck in the net this season and only tallied his 23 assists, he would’ve still matched his career-high in points. He doubled his contribution to the Blueshirts and was later paid handsomely. He inked a sweet 4.4375 x 4 extension with the team earlier this season, so you better believe the Czech forward is here to stay for a good while.

During the playoffs, Chytil may have only scored once. Yet he helped keep pressure in the offensive zone when the kid line was on and even managed to draw penalties. It gave the Blueshirts’ top players quite a few chances to score, even though they couldn’t quite capitalize on them.

The road to the top six might be crowded, with Zibanejad and Trocheck above him.

However, that hasn’t stopped the Rangers from letting Chytil know they’ve got complete confidence in his skills.

He’s a key player in the grand schemes of Chris Drury and will be in Peter Laviolette’s coaching plans.

The next step is for Chytil to keep building on this success, taking modest steps forward. He may not become a superstar, but he can make a long career out of being a reliable middle-six player, and what’s wrong with that?

Who knows, he could very well become a vital piece of a future Stanley Cup championship team – fingers crossed!

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