Analyst Has Dire Projection for Canucks’ Filip Chytil After Latest Injury

Tuesday, October 21, 2025 ,

It was hard to watch as the Vancouver Canucks' Filip Chytil took a devastating open-ice hit from Tom Wilson. And no one throws devastating hits like the Washington Capitals' intimidating, polarizing power forward. 

Chytil was immediately placed on injured reserve, and with his troubling history of head trauma injuries, this latest incident could be extremely dire. With at least five previous concussions in his career, it just might be the end of the line for the Canucks center. 

TSN hockey analyst Craig Button, appearing on the Donnie & Dhali show, says he thinks Chytil might have to call it quits if he wants to have a decent quality of life going forward. 

"I'll be straightforward — To me, it's time to have the hard conversation with Filip Chytil that he may have to retire. And he may have to think about another profession. That's a hard conversation to have," said Button.

The hit from Wilson wasn't to Chytil's head, but it did come late, after Chytil had given up the puck, and you can see the extreme jarring effect it had on his body, head and neck. 

As is almost always the case, it's the cumulative effect of past concussions that can be the most dangerous in further head issues. 

For Chytil, the Canucks haven't announced yet what his condition is, but they are obviously monitoring it closely. As Rick Dhaliwal noted on Tuesday, there's no talk yet about considering a "season-ending LTIR" stint, but "Everything's on the table in terms of thinking about his future."

That's an ominous statement.

Chytil, 26, has three goals in six games to start the season. He was acquired by the Canucks from the New York Rangers midway through last season. He was a first-round pick of the Rangers in the 2017 NHL Draft (21st overall).

Vancouver is now scrambling at the center spot, after losing JT Miller (trade) and Pius Suter (free agency) over the past eight months.

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