- Filip Chytil is on injured reserve, retroactive to Sept 24
- GM Ryan Johnson calls it a shoulder strain, not a concussion, and says Chytil is week-to-week
- Read below for how the collision happened and what it means for Vancouver’s centre depth
Filip Chytil is on injured reserve, and this time it’s not his head.
The Canucks placed the center on IR Friday, retroactive to Sept. 24, one day after he collided with referee Riley Brace and went hard into the boards during a preseason loss to the Oilers. General manager Ryan Johnson called it a shoulder strain, not a concussion, and said Chytil is week-to-week.
Johnson met with reporters after Friday’s practice and was asked about how the fall looked.
“As nasty as that looked, he came down on his shoulder, and it’s more of a muscular strain of the shoulder,” Johnson said. “We are tending to that. He was in great spirits this morning. Unfortunate bounce for a guy that’s been through so much. We’re just evaluating right now. It’ll be a week-to-week thing, but nothing at this point that is alarming. We’re just glad he’s okay after such an unfortunate spill.”
Take a look at the collision that started all of this:
Chytil got tangled up with Brace behind the net late in the first period and tumbled headfirst into the boards. He stayed on the bench for a few minutes, then went down the tunnel and didn’t return. He finished the game with 4:54 of ice time and one shot on goal.
Vancouver made it official that night:
That “been through so much” line isn’t an exaggeration. Chytil has five reported concussions in his career, including one that came on a hit from current Oilers forward Jason Dickinson in March 2025, just weeks after Vancouver acquired him from the Rangers in the J.T. Miller trade. Dickinson is dealing with his own injury scare heading into this season, but Chytil’s track record is rougher.
A deflected shot broke bones in his face in February and ended his 2025-26 season early. He played just 12 games last year and finished with three goals.
He’s in the final year of the four-year, $17.75 million extension he signed with the Rangers in March 2023, carrying a $4.4375 million cap hit and set to hit unrestricted free agency next summer. In 27 games with Vancouver, he has five goals and nine points, and his career totals sit at 80 goals and 173 points in 405 games.
It leaves Vancouver thin down the middle at the worst time. The Canucks also assigned center Braeden Cootes to AHL Abbotsford on Friday, and Aatu Räty has already used up his two preseason games as a veteran call-up.
That leaves Elias Pettersson, Marco Rossi and Max Sasson as the only natural centers left on the roster. Head coach Manny Malhotra has Paul Cotter sliding in at fourth-line center between Arshdeep Bains and Brendan Gallagher for Saturday’s preseason finale against the Kraken.
Chytil isn’t eligible to come off IR until Oct. 2, which already rules him out of the Oct. 1 season opener. Given how Johnson phrased it, a longer absence wouldn’t be surprising for a player who has missed real time in four of his last five seasons.
