The Vancouver Canucks head into the 2025-26 season hoping to bounce back from a campaign where they fell from their Pacific Division penthouse and missed the playoffs. After a relatively quiet offseason where they only added Evander Kane up front and Pierre-Olivier Joseph on defence, they will be banking on their core stepping up and returning them to contender status.
Related: More Canucks Season Preview Content
As we get closer to training camp, the preseason, and finally opening night against the Calgary Flames, I will continue to get you set for the 2025-26 season with the player preview series, which got started early in the offseason with Aatu Raty and recently featured Conor Garland. Next on the docket is Filip Chytil.
Filip Chytil
- Age: 26
- Drafted: Round 1, 21st overall by the New York Rangers in 2017
- How Acquired: Trade with the Rangers on Jan. 31, 2025
- 2024-25 Stats: 13 goals and 26 points in 56 games (Rangers: 11 goals and 20 points in 41 games; Canucks: two goals and six points in 15 games)
- Career Stats: 77 goals and 170 points in 393 games
- 2025-26 Contract Status: Year three of a four-year contract worth $4.4375 million average annual value (AAV)
2024-25 Season Recap
Coming to Vancouver in the J.T. Miller trade at the end of January, Chytil made a solid first impression in the 15 games he played in a Canucks uniform. His season was unfortunately cut short by Jason Dickinson’s dirty hit on March 15, but before that, he added a lot of speed to the lineup and arguably changed the dynamic of the Canucks’ attack. He only scored two goals and six points in those 15 games, but had noticeable chemistry with Drew O’Connor and Brock Boeser, which, interestingly enough, are two players no one is projecting to join him when the season starts in a few weeks.
Overall, Chytil had a pretty good season split between the Rangers and Canucks. He was on pace for 19 goals and 38 points, which would have been his best season since 2022-23 when he hit his career high of 22 goals and 45 points. His health is the biggest question mark heading into 2025-26, which has unfortunately been a recurring theme over his career.
Fortunately, Chytil will be coming into training camp healthy after his most recent concussion. He was able to return to practice at the end of last season, and it has not hindered his offseason training.
“Great. I feel great. I said it at the end of the season that I feel I was ready to go [into the] offseason. I was very happy that I finished the season with the guys on the ice for a couple of practices,” said Chytil in an interview at the end of August. “Two weeks after I came [back to the Czech Republic] I started to work out and skate. Now it’s almost four months already where I’m working out and skating. Knock on wood, I feel very good and feel very positive.”
2025-26 Season Role/Expectations
As of this writing, Chytil is slotted as the Canucks’ second-line centre behind Elias Pettersson. With no new additions in the offseason, there is no one else to challenge him for that spot, which will put a ton of pressure on him to produce at the very least 20–25 goals and 50–60 points. If, and that’s a big if, he’s healthy for the entire season, that’s a realistic goal for the skill he’s shown when he’s been in the lineup. His speed and ability to move the puck in transition clearly made the Canucks a scarier team offensively, and it’s something they will need as they try to make their way back to being a contender this season.
Chytil will also be expected to be a key part of the power play, something he hasn’t been especially proficient in during his career. He only has eight goals and 22 points under his belt, granted that’s only over 490:46 (1:15 average) of ice time. He will be getting a lot more opportunities with the man advantage this season, likely shifting between the first and second units, depending on the setup employed by new assistant coach Scott Young. With his speed and shot, he should see a boost in those numbers and make a difference wherever he’s placed.
Final Stat Prediction
Projecting Chytil’s season is tough, considering he hasn’t played a full 82 games in his career yet. In an ideal world, he stays healthy, breaks out as a legit second-line centre in the NHL and scores 30 goals – like my bold prediction suggested earlier in the offseason. But that’s why I labeled it as bold, since that’s a very optimistic outlook. So, for this preview, I am going a bit more conservative and saying he matches his career high of 22 goals from 2022-23 and hits a new career high in points with 50. I think everyone involved, from the fans, coaching staff and front office, would say that’s a great season from Chytil, even though those numbers aren’t considered ‘elite’ production from a second-line centre.
Other Canucks 2025-26 Player Previews
- Aatu Raty
- Kiefer Sherwood
- Vitali Kravtsov
- Nils Hoglander
- Linus Karlsson
- Teddy Blueger
- Drew O’Connor
- Conor Garland
