The cloud of uncertainty that has always hung over Filip Sitil is grayer than the Seattle sky the Rangers flew into on Saturday.
And no, the Czech center was out as he was undergoing further tests in New York for an upper-body injury sustained in a collision with K'Andre Miller along the half-wall in the previous game.
A year and 15 days after missing 10 games last season with what was then believed to be his fourth concussion, Chytil and the Rangers are back in the gray area.
For the coaching staff, his teammates and everyone else who had a front row seat to Sitil's struggles with recovery last season, seeing him so quickly back in the same spot is an added twist in the stomach. Masu.
“Absolutely,” Ryan Lindgren told the Post after Saturday's practice in Tarrytown. “It's hard to deal with that. You just hope for the best for him. He's a guy we love. He's a huge addition to our team.”
Sources say it's possible Sithil could join the Rangers at some point on the road, but that feels like a long shot unless the 25-year-old is ready to play.
After an injury like this early in the season, and given his history, there would be no need to put Sitil on a plane.
The Rangers are expected to be very intentional about how they handle Chytil going forward.
The longer this story about his health goes on, the more the emphasis has to be on Chytil as a person and not on Chytil as a player.
“We always pay attention to our players,” head coach Peter Laviolette said when asked about the club's need to tread carefully. “If the doctors and everyone else isn’t doing their job, nobody’s going to jump.”
The sooner the Rangers make a final course of action regarding Chytil, the better, lest we forget what the playoffs were like last season.
Despite a 6-0 start to the postseason, Laviolette reinstated Sitil into the lineup.
The Rangers may have beaten Carolina in overtime, but it also came at a time when cracks were starting to show in the team's game.
The next day, Sitil was unable to return to the ice. He missed the next three games.
From there, and throughout the rest of the playoffs, we had to keep an eye on them.
The Rangers clearly thought they needed him to win — and probably did — but it was confusing.
Sitil could only play in five of the final nine games.
Having the third-line center's status up in the air almost every day wasn't conducive to a stable environment.
Rangers shouldn't go back down that path again.
It didn't help then, and it probably won't help you now.
Johnny Brodzinski slotted into Chytil's usual spot on the third unit between Will Quill and Kaapo Kakko during Saturday's practice.
The veteran forward skated with the two young players in 13 games last season.
This will be a short-term plan without Chytil, but the long-term plan – if necessary – is still unclear.
“He goes out there and gives us good minutes,” Laviolette said of Brodzinski. “He's fast, he's competitive, and I think that spot is actually a good fit for him. He's played there before. He's done it. He's really comfortable there now. I think you're having a good time.”
