Canucks’ Filip Chytil Catches Another Awful Break

Vancouver Canucks center Filip Chytil skates with the puck

Here we go again. Snakebit center Filip Chytil, finally getting close to a return for the Vancouver Canucks, took a puck to the face at practice this week, and is out once again indefinitely.

Filip Chytil suffered a facial fracture at practice on Wednesday and is out indefinitely #Canucks
— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) February 20, 2026

Chytil suffered a fracture to his cheek, and will be out for a long haul.

He has played only 12 games this season due to repeated head injuries. Concussion issues have plagued him throughout his career. Whether the puck to the face had any trauma effects for his head has not been revealed, though head coach Adam Foote said Chytil might need surgery.

The 6-foot-2 Czech center has three goals and no assists in his 12 games this season. He played just 15 games last season for Vancouver after coming over from the New York Rangers.

Chytil’s continued absence will keep the Canucks in a bind as far as depth at the pivot goes. David Kampf will now likely continue to be slotted in as the second-line centre when the team resumes play out of the break.

The former first-round pick (2017 NHL draft) spent the first 7 1/2 years of his NHL career with the Rangers, and overall, across 405 games, he has 80 goals and 173 points. His best season came in 2022-23, when it finally looked like he would break out, when he registered 22 goals and 45 points with a +15 rating.

Unfortunately, he suffered his first fractured cheekbone after that season, and sat out all but 10 games of the 2023-24 campaign, stopping his progress dead in its tracks.