In disappointing news, the Rangers announced that Filip Chytil is out for the remainder of the season. Unfortunately, it was expected after he had a setback related to his previous injury near the conclusion of practice on Friday.

The team statement reads as follows:

“Following a thorough evaluation of Filip Chytil after his recent setback from an upper body injury, it has been confirmed he will be out for the remainder of the season. The organization’s top priority throughout this process has been Filip’s health and we will continue to fully support him in his recovery with an aim to return for the 2024-25 season.”

The most important thing is Chytil’s health and well-being. Right now, hockey is secondary. When dealing with concussions, it’s very tricky. As I echoed before when he flew back from Czechia to ramp up workouts with the team, there was a lot of concern. You’re dealing with the unknown. Thankfully, due to concussion protocol, teams are extremely cautious in handling recovering players.

At this point, it’s hard to predict what will happen with Chytil. He’s 24 and gets paid handsomely by the Rangers. There’s no way of knowing if he’ll ever return to playing hockey. All that matters is how Chytil feels day to day. Hopefully, he will progress and make a full recovery.

Now is not the time to play general manager. The Rangers will have $4.43 million in cap space to work with between now and Mar. 8. However, I’m not going to make any suggestions in this post.

This is all about Chytil. A good guy who played a key role in the Rangers’ run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021-22, I can only wish him all the best moving forward. It’s a humbling day, which only feels appropriate considering the yucky weather outside.

All we can do is hope for the best. Chytil is a young man with so much ahead in his life. That’s what’s most important.