Center helped off ice after suffering scary setback at practice
Filip Chytil was down on the Garden ice Friday morning in a scary and troubling scene for the Rangers and their rehabbing center.
One day after returning to practice for the first time since suffering a suspected concussion in early November, Chytil was down for several minutes and had to be helped off the ice at an optional skate at MSG before Friday’s 5-2 loss to the Golden Knights.
It is unclear what exactly happened to Chytil, but he was moving slowly as he left the rink with help from teammates Zac Jones and Jake Leschyshyn and the Rangers’ training staff.
The Rangers still have not officially termed the injury a concussion, but coach Peter Laviolette said after the game that the 24-year-old Chytil “suffered a setback in regards to the [upperbody] injury that he was dealing with,” and he was back at his New York home Friday afternoon after being medically evaluated.
“It’s obviously tough,” Laviolette added. “He’s an important piece to our team, and he’s a good young player for us, so it was obviously tough to see that.”
Laviolette was watching the skate from the Zamboni tunnel, chatting with reporters, when he stopped talking and hurriedly headed for the locker room
Laviolette had said during a press conference minutes earlier that the plan was to “ramp up” Chytil’s workouts during the up- coming All-Star break, which begins following Saturday’s road game against the Senators.
“We’re looking to ramp it up with Fil as we move through here, yep,” said Laviolette, who was not scheduled to address the media again until after the game. “I think every day it increases the workout intensity, the duration, the difficulty of it. You start somewhere and you start increasing that to get to a place where you can come back and participate in a game and be an effective player.
“Our job is to get him, from a fitness standpoint, at a higher level, and while we’re doing that, that he’s feeling well.
Chytil was filmed earlier in the skate by an SNY reporter and seemed to be maneuvering without issue.
Chytil had returned to practice one day earlier, wearing a red non-contact jersey and occasionally taking shifts with teammates for the first time since colliding with Hurricanes forward Jesper Fast on Nov. 2.
“Day 1, so we’ll start the process of working up to speed. But it was good to have him out there,” Laviolette said after Thursday’s practice. “There’s no time frame. That was Day 1.”
Chytil, who has had at least three previous documented concussions during his career, returned stateside Monday following a recovery period in his native Czechia, but he remains on long-term injured reserve.
If Chytil remains on LTIR, the Rangers can use what’s left of his $4.4 million salary-cap hit to create some space before the March 8 trade deadline.