The Rangers have extended pending RFA Filip Chytil for four years, locking up one of their core young players in the midst of his breakout season.
The New York Rangers have announced a four-year contract extension for 23-year-old center Filip Chytil, who had been set to hit restricted free agency this summer.
HERE TO FIL YOUR FEED WITH JOY
HE’S A #NYR FOR FOUR MORE. ☑️ pic.twitter.com/cQghHdSQ2P
— x – New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 29, 2023
Per The Athletic’s Arthur Staple, the contract value is for annual average of $4.4375 million, which represents great value for a player who has surpassed 20 goals and 40 points for the first time and appears to just be entering the beginning of his prime. This contract takes him through the 2026-27 season, at which point the Czech pivot will still only be 27 years old.
Chytil gets $4.4375m per on four-year extension from #NYR
— Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) March 29, 2023
In 66 games this season, Chytil has recorded 22 goals and 20 assists for 42 points. Previously, he had never scored more than 14 goals and 23 points in a single season. His jump began in last year’s postseason, when he scored seven goals in 20 games, including five in a three-game span across the second and third rounds. Chytil carried that momentum and confidence into this season, and has been a critical contributor for the Rangers at both ends of the ice.
Back in December, when his breakout season was evident, I wrote that the Rangers — who are looking at a salary cap crunch this summer — needed to hold on to Chytil, even though fitting him in would be difficult. New contracts due to Alexis Lafrenière and K’Andre Miller — on top of existing long-term contracts to other players — will leave the Rangers with little cap room. As of now, they only have 14 players signed for next season, and about $12 million in estimated cap space (per CapFriendly) to fill out the remainder of the roster. It’s going to be tight, and some difficult decisions and sacrifices will need to be made.
That being said, this is a great deal for the Rangers, and it’s encouraging to see that they recognize the importance of keeping Chytil in the fold long-term. They’ll take further steps to cross the bridge that is their salary cap crunch when they need to, but keeping Chytil at an affordable number that should also age very well is a great start.