Filip Chytil Hits IR After Tom Wilson Collision as Canucks' Roster Gets Decimated
Filip Chytil is heading to injured reserve after a brutal hit from Tom Wilson, adding to a growing list of casualties for a suddenly depleted Vancouver Canucks roster.
HotTakes Editorial TeamUpdated 1 min read
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The Vancouver Canucks are officially running out of healthy bodies, placing center Filip Chytil on injured reserve Monday after he was on the receiving end of a vintage Tom Wilson open-ice car crash.
Daily Faceoff reported the roster move, which feels less like standard hockey news and more like a grim inevitability anytime someone with a concussion history shares a time zone with Wilson. The Capitals enforcer is reportedly not facing supplemental discipline, proving once again that the NHL wheel of justice is just a roulette table missing half its numbers.
"Daily Faceoff reported the Canucks placed Filip Chytil on injured reserve."
Chytil took the vicious neutral-zone hit late in the first period of Sunday's 4-3 win over Washington and had to be helped off the ice by trainers. It is a brutal setback for a guy who had actually found his footing, potting three goals in his first six games of the season.
The real concern here is the medical chart. Chytil, who came over in the J.T. Miller trade with the New York Rangers, played just 10 games in the 2023-24 season due to a severe concussion. When a player with that kind of neurological resume takes a heavy check, the timeline for a return immediately shifts from days to whenever the doctors stop holding their breath.
Vancouver is suddenly operating a triage center. Jonathan Lekkerimäki also hit IR after getting crunched along the boards in the exact same game, and Nils Höglander was just shifted to long-term injured reserve. The 4-2-0 Canucks are now pulling guys like Joseph LaBate and Jimmy Schuldt up from AHL Abbotsford just to ice a legal lineup, which is exactly the kind of depth-chart chaos that makes betting their upcoming moneylines a terrifying proposition.
Chytil is technically eligible to return on October 28 against his old Rangers squad, but nobody in the building is rushing that clock. For now, Vancouver has to figure out how to patch together a functional forward group before they host the Seattle Kraken.
Key stats
Key statsChytil scored 3 goals in his first 6 games of the season.
The Canucks hold a 4-2-0 record to start the year.
Chytil played only 10 games during the 2023-24 season due to a concussion.
What's next
Chytil is eligible to return on October 28, but his history suggests a highly cautious recovery timeline as Vancouver prepares to host the Seattle Kraken.
