Filip Chytil

[ChilliBilly]

I've always suspected the Canucks view Chytil as an avenue to cap-space, rather than as a roster player asset.

Keep in mind that Chytil will only be 25 years old at the time of the next buyout window—meaning they will only be on the hook for 33% of his remaining cap-hit if they were to buy him out. The cap-hit of such a buy-out would be only $281k, $1.4m, $718k, $718k.

Ownership was more than happy to get out of the Virtanen and OEL contracts. I wonder if they would do it again for Chytil if they thought they could spend that cap on a UFA like Marner or Ehlers...

Aren't we running out of buy out options? I thought you only had a fixed number. While the cap hit isn't bad, I hate the fact that we carry guys for years instead of just living with bad contracts that we accepted.

And I really wish there was a mechanism for guys to retire due to injury where the team could just pay out his remaining salary and have it done. This forcing guys to remain on the roster just decreases the money available to pay players with. it really doesn't do anyone any good.

 

[VanJack]

An indefinite stint on LTIR is probably just as good, if not better for the Canucks than an outright 'buy out'. Aren't player salaries insured?

If that's the case, then league insurance pays for Chytil's salary and the Canucks still gain the cap-room.

 

[StickShift]

An indefinite stint on LTIR is probably just as good, if not better for the Canucks than an outright 'buy out'. Aren't player salaries insured?

If that's the case, then league insurance pays for Chytil's salary and the Canucks still gain the cap-room.

LTIRetirement is only effective if the club is spending to the salary cap, then they can exceed his cap-hit. If they are spending to below the cap (like they are this year) they would get no relief.

With the rising salary cap and the weakening Canadian dollar—I would be surprised if the Canucks spend to the cap unless they are clearly contending. It makes more sense to me that they would buy out his contract now for cheap rather than service it through insurance if he does retire.

Remember too that LTIRetirement requires the player to cooperate. The worst scenario might be if he doesn't want to retire. If his chronic injury makes him only a part-time option they have to tie-up his cap-space while never actually being sure if he will be ready to play their most important games.

Buying him out creates certainty for the Canucks out of a situation with a lot of flux.

Aren't we running out of buy out options? I thought you only had a fixed number.

AFAIK there is no limit to how many buy-outs a team can have at any time.

 

[F A N]

Aren't we running out of buy out options? I thought you only had a fixed number.

There are no limits to the number of players you can buyout. The dead cap space just adds up. Also you can't buy out an injured player.

While the cap hit isn't bad, I hate the fact that we carry guys for years instead of just living with bad contracts that we accepted.

And I really wish there was a mechanism for guys to retire due to injury where the team could just pay out his remaining salary and have it done. This forcing guys to remain on the roster just decreases the money available to pay players with. it really doesn't do anyone any good.

Ya but ultimately that's not what the owners want from the salary cap. The NHL has changed rules that make it harder to circumvent the cap including limiting contract length. Otherwise, if "there was a mechanism for guys to retire due to injury where the team could pay out his remaining salary and have it done" the rich teams could go back to offering long term contracts to older players and not worry about consequences.

The NHL is unusual in that it punishes older players with the 35+ year. Like I don't even know why players and owners voted for that. A lot of older players who can still contribute have been pushed out of the league while all else being equal, I would imagine that teams are better off in terms of jersey and ticket sales having a big name aging player playing on the 4th line as opposed to a fringe NHL player.

 

[PavelBure10]

Truly feel awful for Chytil and I wish for a full recovery, but with Chytil's concussion history this was a very stupid trade to begin with.

 

[BoHorvat 53]

Truly feel awful for Chytil and I wish for a full recovery, but with Chytil's concussion history this was a very stupid trade to begin with.

I mean, Dickinson laid him out with a dirty hit - the majority of players would probably be walking out of there with a concussion if they were on the receiving end of that bullshit.

If he was getting concussed on a clean play, then yeah, sure that may be the right perspective but knowing how he got hurt I'm not sure how you reach that conclusion.

 

[F A N]

I mean, Dickinson laid him out with a dirty hit - the majority of players would probably be walking out of there with a concussion if they were on the receiving end of that bullshit.

If he was getting concussed on a clean play, then yeah, sure that may be the right perspective but knowing how he got hurt I'm not sure how you reach that conclusion.

I think with concussions, it's hard to predict the impact. Like you said, any player could have suffered a concussion from that dirty hit. So on the one hand, any player could have had their careers ended, miss significant number of games, and or suffer long-term consequences from that hit.

On the other hand, previous concussions make one more susceptible to suffering another concussion. The impact from another concussion can be magnified as well. There's also the fact that a player like Chytil is more likely to call it quits despite feeling OK due to future health concerns than a player recovering from his first concussion. Take Ferland. He actually wanted to make another comeback but people around him were telling him don't.

At the end of the day, Chytil's health was a serious concern prior to the trade. He only played 10 regular season games last season and now he's out again with another concussion. This isn't an I told you so but I don't know how anyone here can argue that there isn't an above average risk that Chytil will suffer another concussion and be out a significant period of time. It's like a top boxer who got knocked out for the first time. Comes back and win an easy fight and then gets knocked out again. There would be calls for him to retire.

It sucks and I wish Chytil a speedy recovery but as a fan of the Canucks I can't be confident that we can rely on Chytil to play a significant role on this team.