CHYTIL AT FORK IN ROAD
NHL-AHL dilemma has pact implications
R EGARDING the Rangers, who have been as advertised through the season’s first two weeks:
1. The Blueshirts have a decision to make on Filip Chytil, and it is not whether the 19-year-old belongs in the middle or on the wing, but whether he belongs in the NHL at all.
And the decision must be reached quickly, for if No. 72 is sent to the AHL Wolf Pack before he plays 10 games, his entrylevel contract would slide for the second straight year.
Chytil is now at seven, with upcoming matches at the Garden on Sunday (Calgary) and Tuesday (Florida) before a four-game western trip that starts in Chicago next Friday before incorporating the three California teams.
David Quinn could buy some time by press-boxing the young man for a few games (and you thought press-boxing was an undercard bout featuring this writer and Dan Boyle), but the upcoming schedule won’t allow for an abundance of practice time, either, in which the coach and management could continue to evaluate the 19-year-old.
Chytil has gotten a fair share of ice, used predominantly as a topnine, mostly at center but also at wing. He began the season on the power play before being supplanted by fellow freshman Brett Howden.
There have been flashes from Chytil, but an absence of sustained effectiveness. He has been unable to use his speed to create or beat defenders one-onone. His defensive work has expected deficiencies. Scoreless (with two assists), he seems to be fighting it. His impact has diminished steadily.
There is no shame on either end if management reaches the conclusion that the Czech’s development would be better served by a return to Hartford. Remember this: Mark Scheifele went back twice to junior. That did not stunt his growth.
Remember this, too: This year is not about this year, even if every player on the ice and every coach behind the bench is channeling Herman Edwards by PLAYING TO WIN THE GAME.
2. So what to do? Well, Quinn should give Chytil top-six minutes in the middle against the Flames and Panthers to allow him to make his case. That should bring a bit more clarity to the situation before GM Jeff Gorton and his staff make the call on whether to stop the clock on Year 1 of Chytil’s entrylevel contract.
3. Here is the list of righthanded defensemen in New York and Hartford: 1. Kevin Shattenkirk; 2. Neal Pionk; 3. Adam McQuaid; 4. Tony DeAngelo.
You might have noticed that not one plays for the Wolf Pack, who are making do with an alllefty blueline. First-rounder Nils Lundkvist is a righty, but he is at least two and probably three years away from competing for a job. Even both Yegor Rykov, working in the KHL, and first-rounder K’Andre Miller, who is playing his freshman season for Tony Granato’s Wisconsin Badgers, are lefties.
4. Which is to suggest that the Rangers commit to investing the time to discover whether DeAngelo has a reasonable chance to be part of the future on Broadway.
This means giving the 22year-old a substantial run of games, even if veterans higher in the pecking order and more effective on the ice must take a seat. McQuaid, a pro’s pro who elevates the team on the ice and in the room, is a short-timer surely to be gone by the Feb. 25 deadline. If he is the one to come out, so be it. And on an objective basis, there seems negligible, if any, long-term benefit to Freddy Claesson playing
ahead of DeAngelo, even if the Swede has done nothing wrong. Fact is, the Rangers might be able to turn free-agent signee Claesson into a second- or third-rounder at the deadline.
DeAngelo is operating on a need-to-know basis. Plus, he plays the dynamic-puck-transport game the Blueshirts so desperately need to drive offense. Or does he? Can he do it capably and consistently enough at the NHL level so that his defensive deficiencies can be tolerated? Can Quinn and Gorton pencil him in on the depth chart for 2019-20 and beyond?
There is only one way to find out.
5. Unless Lias Andersson dominates and management determines it serves no purpose for him to go through a full AHL season, the contract slide applies to him, as well. But Libor Hajek and Ryan Lindgren are both aged-out of the slide, so either or both could see time on Broadway if — and only if — they master their craft in the AHL.
6. As expected, the Blueshirts sent Alexandar Georgiev to the Wolf Pack so he can get in a couple of games. Hartford plays Friday in Belleville, Ontario, and Saturday afternoon in Toronto. Marek Mazanec has been recalled and could back up Henrik Lundqvist on Sunday.