Should Filip Chytil continue playing at any cost?
Pretend for a moment that you are Filip Chytil's parents. Would you want him to play slambang NHL hockey anymore?
Tough question. The Kid is 25 and has been banged around more than a pinball off a flipper.
When the Czech center got whacked with a concussion last year, one of my Ranger fan buddies David Perlmutter said, "He should quit now. RIGHT NOW!"
Easy to say and – in a way – it made sense because Fiery Fil's life could have been at stake, let alone his living.
Living. Yeah, that's the other trick. Chytil plays well, gets paid well and lives the good big leaguer's life in New York. Who'd want to give that up? Surely not me.
But you have to wonder.
Around the time teammate K'Andre Miller played iceberg against Chytil's Titanic last week, my 18-year-old grandson Ariel got whacked in the ear during a hockey practice at Hershey, Pa. A piece of ear had to be sewed back on – which it was.
The second thing we worried about was the same thing that's giving Chytil family concern – a concussion. (So far, all signs are good for Ariel.)
Meanwhile, Fil's team is in Seattle followed by three more games in the West. You can bet your front row ticket that Chytil will not be there. Not in Calgary, Vancouver nor Edmonton.
It's what happens later that matters. The Blueshirts return home on Monday, Nov. 25 against the Blues. That could be the "Hail, The Conquering Hero Day" for Chytil; if the medics and the high command agree.
Or, it could not. Meanwhile, Jonny Brodzinski will replace Chytil on a decent-enough line with Will Cuylle and Kaapo Kakko.
Apart from concern about Chytil the Rangers are laughing. This is a team with a 10-4-1 record and hasn't even played close to its potential. So, no big deal.
"You'll see what this team really can do when January arrives," says The Old Scout. "At six games over .500 and still playing mediocre; imagine how good they'll be when they shape up in a couple of months for the really serious games."
That said, this Seattle team – the one with the silly walnut shell name – could make the Chytil-less Rangers a bit more serious on Monday night!