When J.T. Miller was traded to the New York Rangers last season, 26 year old Filip Chytil was the key forward the Canucks received in return. On the Rangers, Chytil never averaged over 15 minutes per game in a full season as he was often buried in a lineup that featured many quality veteran forwards. After joining the Canucks in the second half of the 2024-2025 season, Chytil saw a jump in his minutes to over 16 per game, and this year over 17 minutes per game under new Head Coach Adam Foote, before going down with an upper body injury after taking a big hit from Washington Capitals power forward Tom Wilson. Chytil has clearly been given new life and a clear runway to display the size, speed and skill that made him a first-round selection by the New York Rangers in 2017, but with his latest exit from the lineup and a history of injuries, the Canucks have acquired a young winger with centre experience, Lukas Reichel from the Chicago Blackhawks for a 2027 fourth-round pick due to their lack of depth up the middle as they are also missing depth centre Teddy Blueger.
The speedy and hard working Reichel has shown potential with his two-way play at times in his short career as a former first-round pick in 2020, and could see a move back to centre and some elevated minutes in the Canucks top 6 between Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser in a spot formerly occupied by Chytil, and currently occupied by by Max Sasson. With relatively inexperienced centres Aatu Raty and Nils Aman occupying the bottom two centre roles, questions remain about whether the Canucks have enough depth at centre to successfully get through the season, but the acquisition of Reichel is a modest start to addressing the need up the middle.