TARRYTOWN – Chris Kreider stayed mostly quiet throughout what he repeatedly described as a “challenging” season, but Monday offered a chance for the longest-tenured Ranger to finally tell his side of the story.
It started with a laundry list of ailments that undoubtedly contributed to the worst statistical season since his 2012-13 rookie campaign.
“Just a bunch of weird, fluky things this year,” the 33-year-old forward explained on breakup day at the MSG Training Center. “The first half of the year, we were trying to get my back figured out. And then when I got that figured out, I had a weird illness coming out of Christmas break that went to my inner ear and got me vertigo, which I don’t recommend. And then finally, when I felt like I was getting a little bit of rhythm, getting traction, felt healthy, back felt good, I messed up my hand.”
Kreider suffered the left-hand injury during the third period of a Feb. 22 loss in Buffalo. It would cost him the next six games but was never quite right after.
It may require offseason surgery − “I’ve got to talk to the hand doctor a little bit more,” he said − but mounting injuries weren’t the only challenge the 13-year veteran faced.
Multiple reports, including one from lohud.com, part of the USA TODAY Network, uncovered that team president Chris Drury included Kreider in a league-wide memo soliciting trade offers in late November. The franchise’s third all-time leading goal scorer found out secondhand − or even third, you might say − and had to deal with the awkward fallout for the rest of the season.
“That wasn’t the first time,” he said of seeing his name on the trade block. “It won’t be the last time that kind of stuff comes out. That’s part of professional sports, unfortunately. I’m lucky I don’t have any social media. I wasn’t really aware of it until people close to me brought it to my attention, but just try to show up and do your job the best of your abilities. Guys come and go. Unfortunately, it happened a lot over the course of the season for us, and there was a lot of roster change. Usually within a season, there’s certain brush points where you expect it. Obviously, this year was different.”
Kreider joined a group of established team leaders, including Barclay Goodrow and former captain Jacob Trouba, who found themselves cast aside after helping the Rangers reach the Eastern Conference Finals two of the previous three years.
Both Goodrow and Trouba, along with a handful of others who had been staples on those teams, have since been waived or traded. Kreider called it “a distraction,” while also pointing the finger inward and stating, “Maybe we didn’t rise to those challenges in the way that we would like.”
The purge is expected to continue after missing the playoffs for the first time in four years, with head coach Peter Laviolette having been dismissed already and more players likely to follow this summer. Multiple league sources believe that Kreider is among the likeliest to go, even though Drury will have to work around his 15-team no-trade list.
“I’ve got to control what I can control,” he said. “For me right now, it’s getting healthy and staying healthy through the course of next season. Showing up in the best possible shape I can for training camp. The best ability is availability.”
A healthy Kreider could bring some value on the trade market.
He averaged 42.3 goals the previous three years before plummeting to 22 with only eight assists in 68 games played this season. Teams will also covet his elite net-front presence, opportunistic penalty killing and no-nonsense work ethic.
That all would have appeal for the Rangers, as well, but they have a deep pool of young left-wingers − starting with Will Cuylle and Alexis Lafrenière, and extending to prospects Brett Berard, Brennan Othmann and Gabe Perreault − who appear ready to step in. Dealing Kreider would allow Drury to reallocate the $6.5 million average annual value due over the final two seasons of his contract to needier positions.
Those are the hockey reasons to consider moving on, but nothing in this calamitous season has been quite that simple. There’s a clear divide between management and players, with Kreider unexpectedly finding himself in the crosshairs.
He still made his pitch to stick around, but at this point, the damage may already been done.
“This is home for me,” Kreider said. “This is the organization that gave me an opportunity to live out my dream. I’ve developed so many incredible relationships and grown up and spent so much time in this area. Obviously, this is where I want to be, and this is the group that I want to help, in whatever fashion, win hockey games.”
Braden Schneider has labrum surgery
After missing the final two regular-season games with what the Rangers deemed an upper-body injury, Braden Schneider appeared with his right arm in a brace that made it look like he was in permanent fist-bumping position.
The 23-year-old defenseman revealed that he had surgery to repair a torn labrum on Thursday − an injury he’s been dealing with, to varying degrees, dating back to the end of the 2022-23 season.
“It’s probably been two years since I had the initial injury,” Schneider said. “Us and the (training) staff did a really good job at communicating and making sure that I was able to go − and I wanted to go. We had a big run (last season), and I wanted to be here for this year, just because I knew we had a good team. … Obviously, it didn’t go the way that we wanted it to.
“It’s something that they said I could play with for the rest of my playing career, but it puts me at more risk for other things down the road in my life that would be tougher to deal with then,” he added. “So, it was something that I think had to be done.”
The 6-foot-4, 213-pounder amazingly pushed through and decided to kick the surgery can down the road after last year’s trip to the conference finals.
Schneider posted career highs in points (21) and average time on ice (17:52) with a plus-nine rating over 80 games, but the tear seemed to worsen this season and hamper his ability to absorb and initiate contact.
“I feel like there were times that either, I’d aggravate it, and there would be games and or a string of games where I wasn’t as physical as I wanted to be, or I was a little hesitant with it,” he said. “That was more of the reason why I wanted to get it done so bad, was because I didn’t want to be dealing with that anymore. I knew that there could be more physicality to my game. I didn’t think it took away from other (areas), like puck-handling and shooting. That felt fine, but it’s something that I definitely was thinking about.”
Why the Rangers would allow him to play through the pain for so long is a valid question, but Schneider said the surgery option was presented at the end of last season and he made the decision to “stick it out.” But with the team missing the playoffs this year and looking at a significantly longer summer, the time was now to get it done.
He outlined a timeline that includes four weeks in the brace, then four weeks of “getting my mobility back,” with clearance to resume skating around the three-month, post-surgery mark. That would put him on pace to be ready for the start of training camp in September, with Schneider expressing confidence that will be the case.
Adam Edström nearing 100%
Adam Edström also confirmed that he had surgery, although the 24-year-old forward declined to go into specifics about his lower-body injury.
The 6-foot-7, 241-pound rookie suffered the injury on Feb. 1 and missed the rest of the season, but had appeared in all 51 games prior and made a positive impression.
“I felt like we really got going there at the end − me, (Matt Rempe) and (Sam) Carrick − we found something really good,” he said. “It’s always tough to miss time, but it’s one of those things that happens. It’s part of the sport, but I’m excited to come back strong.”
Edström posted nine points (five goals and four assists) with a minus-five rating and 45.49% xGF, according to Natural Stat Trick, but the numbers don’t tell the whole story. He graded out as one of the Rangers’ fastest skaters, which he combined with physicality and a trustworthy two-way game.
New York has a ton of questions going into next season, but it’s easy to envision rolling back an imposing fourth line of Carrick flanked by the towering combo of Edström and Rempe.
“I love both of those guys,” he said. “It was a blast playing with them.”
Edström has already begun skating and said he could have been an option to return had the team gone deep enough in the playoffs. He estimated he’s “a few weeks” away from being 100%, noting that he plans to stay in New York to complete his rehab before heading home to Sweden for his regular summer training regimen.
Young players reveal summer plans
Rempe revealed a major lifestyle change, announcing that Tuesday will be his final night staying with Jonathan Quick’s family after moving in last summer and sticking around all season.
“He definitely knows he’s invited for dinner whenever he wants,” Quick quipped.
The 6-foot-9, 255-pound forward is all grown up after completing his rookie season and will get his own place while spending most of the offseason in the New York area.
He’s once again planning to train with Kreider and Quick at Prentiss Hockey Performance in Connecticut, with fellow rookie forward Brett Berard accepting an invitation to join the crew.
“Working out with those guys is definitely going to push me,” Berard said. “Being a smaller guy, you want to put on some weight. The way I play, I need to make sure I’m not getting knocked off pucks easily. … It’ll be a big summer − an important one for me, I think. Hopefully, I’ll come in ready.”
Meanwhile, top prospect Gabe Perreault is heading back to Boston College after a quick five-game NHL sample.
The 19-year-old sophomore arrived three weeks ago after signing his entry-level contract, but now he’s got a semester to finish before turning his attention to summer training.
“It’s definitely a little bit weird,” Perreault said with a smile. “But it’s exciting to see those guys that are still there, so it’ll be good to spend a couple more weeks with them.”
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NY Rangers exit interviews: Chris Kreider details ‘challenging’ season
TARRYTOWN – Chris Kreider stayed mostly quiet throughout what he repeatedly described as a “challenging” season, but Monday offered a chance for the longest-tenured Ranger to finally tell his side of the story.
It started with a laundry list of ailments that undoubtedly contributed to the worst statistical season since his 2012-13 rookie campaign.
“Just a bunch of weird, fluky things this year,” the 33-year-old forward explained on breakup day at the MSG Training Center. “The first half of the year, we were trying to get my back figured out. And then when I got that figured out, I had a weird illness coming out of Christmas break that went to my inner ear and got me vertigo, which I don’t recommend. And then finally, when I felt like I was getting a little bit of rhythm, getting traction, felt healthy, back felt good, I messed up my hand.”
Kreider suffered the left-hand injury during the third period of a Feb. 22 loss in Buffalo. It would cost him the next six games but was never quite right after.
It may require offseason surgery − “I’ve got to talk to the hand doctor a little bit more,” he said − but mounting injuries weren’t the only challenge the 13-year veteran faced.
Multiple reports, including one from lohud.com, part of the USA TODAY Network, uncovered that team president Chris Drury included Kreider in a league-wide memo soliciting trade offers in late November. The franchise’s third all-time leading goal scorer found out secondhand − or even third, you might say − and had to deal with the awkward fallout for the rest of the season.
“That wasn’t the first time,” he said of seeing his name on the trade block. “It won’t be the last time that kind of stuff comes out. That’s part of professional sports, unfortunately. I’m lucky I don’t have any social media. I wasn’t really aware of it until people close to me brought it to my attention, but just try to show up and do your job the best of your abilities. Guys come and go. Unfortunately, it happened a lot over the course of the season for us, and there was a lot of roster change. Usually within a season, there’s certain brush points where you expect it. Obviously, this year was different.”
Kreider joined a group of established team leaders, including Barclay Goodrow and former captain Jacob Trouba, who found themselves cast aside after helping the Rangers reach the Eastern Conference Finals two of the previous three years.
Both Goodrow and Trouba, along with a handful of others who had been staples on those teams, have since been waived or traded. Kreider called it “a distraction,” while also pointing the finger inward and stating, “Maybe we didn’t rise to those challenges in the way that we would like.”
The purge is expected to continue after missing the playoffs for the first time in four years, with head coach Peter Laviolette having been dismissed already and more players likely to follow this summer. Multiple league sources believe that Kreider is among the likeliest to go, even though Drury will have to work around his 15-team no-trade list.
“I’ve got to control what I can control,” he said. “For me right now, it’s getting healthy and staying healthy through the course of next season. Showing up in the best possible shape I can for training camp. The best ability is availability.”
A healthy Kreider could bring some value on the trade market.
He averaged 42.3 goals the previous three years before plummeting to 22 with only eight assists in 68 games played this season. Teams will also covet his elite net-front presence, opportunistic penalty killing and no-nonsense work ethic.
That all would have appeal for the Rangers, as well, but they have a deep pool of young left-wingers − starting with Will Cuylle and Alexis Lafrenière, and extending to prospects Brett Berard, Brennan Othmann and Gabe Perreault − who appear ready to step in. Dealing Kreider would allow Drury to reallocate the $6.5 million average annual value due over the final two seasons of his contract to needier positions.
Those are the hockey reasons to consider moving on, but nothing in this calamitous season has been quite that simple. There’s a clear divide between management and players, with Kreider unexpectedly finding himself in the crosshairs.
He still made his pitch to stick around, but at this point, the damage may already been done.
“This is home for me,” Kreider said. “This is the organization that gave me an opportunity to live out my dream. I’ve developed so many incredible relationships and grown up and spent so much time in this area. Obviously, this is where I want to be, and this is the group that I want to help, in whatever fashion, win hockey games.”
Braden Schneider has labrum surgery
After missing the final two regular-season games with what the Rangers deemed an upper-body injury, Braden Schneider appeared with his right arm in a brace that made it look like he was in permanent fist-bumping position.
The 23-year-old defenseman revealed that he had surgery to repair a torn labrum on Thursday − an injury he’s been dealing with, to varying degrees, dating back to the end of the 2022-23 season.
“It’s probably been two years since I had the initial injury,” Schneider said. “Us and the (training) staff did a really good job at communicating and making sure that I was able to go − and I wanted to go. We had a big run (last season), and I wanted to be here for this year, just because I knew we had a good team. … Obviously, it didn’t go the way that we wanted it to.
“It’s something that they said I could play with for the rest of my playing career, but it puts me at more risk for other things down the road in my life that would be tougher to deal with then,” he added. “So, it was something that I think had to be done.”
The 6-foot-4, 213-pounder amazingly pushed through and decided to kick the surgery can down the road after last year’s trip to the conference finals.
Schneider posted career highs in points (21) and average time on ice (17:52) with a plus-nine rating over 80 games, but the tear seemed to worsen this season and hamper his ability to absorb and initiate contact.
“I feel like there were times that either, I’d aggravate it, and there would be games and or a string of games where I wasn’t as physical as I wanted to be, or I was a little hesitant with it,” he said. “That was more of the reason why I wanted to get it done so bad, was because I didn’t want to be dealing with that anymore. I knew that there could be more physicality to my game. I didn’t think it took away from other (areas), like puck-handling and shooting. That felt fine, but it’s something that I definitely was thinking about.”
Why the Rangers would allow him to play through the pain for so long is a valid question, but Schneider said the surgery option was presented at the end of last season and he made the decision to “stick it out.” But with the team missing the playoffs this year and looking at a significantly longer summer, the time was now to get it done.
He outlined a timeline that includes four weeks in the brace, then four weeks of “getting my mobility back,” with clearance to resume skating around the three-month, post-surgery mark. That would put him on pace to be ready for the start of training camp in September, with Schneider expressing confidence that will be the case.
Adam Edström nearing 100%
Adam Edström also confirmed that he had surgery, although the 24-year-old forward declined to go into specifics about his lower-body injury.
The 6-foot-7, 241-pound rookie suffered the injury on Feb. 1 and missed the rest of the season, but had appeared in all 51 games prior and made a positive impression.
“I felt like we really got going there at the end − me, (Matt Rempe) and (Sam) Carrick − we found something really good,” he said. “It’s always tough to miss time, but it’s one of those things that happens. It’s part of the sport, but I’m excited to come back strong.”
Edström posted nine points (five goals and four assists) with a minus-five rating and 45.49% xGF, according to Natural Stat Trick, but the numbers don’t tell the whole story. He graded out as one of the Rangers’ fastest skaters, which he combined with physicality and a trustworthy two-way game.
New York has a ton of questions going into next season, but it’s easy to envision rolling back an imposing fourth line of Carrick flanked by the towering combo of Edström and Rempe.
“I love both of those guys,” he said. “It was a blast playing with them.”
Edström has already begun skating and said he could have been an option to return had the team gone deep enough in the playoffs. He estimated he’s “a few weeks” away from being 100%, noting that he plans to stay in New York to complete his rehab before heading home to Sweden for his regular summer training regimen.
Young players reveal summer plans
Rempe revealed a major lifestyle change, announcing that Tuesday will be his final night staying with Jonathan Quick’s family after moving in last summer and sticking around all season.
“He definitely knows he’s invited for dinner whenever he wants,” Quick quipped.
The 6-foot-9, 255-pound forward is all grown up after completing his rookie season and will get his own place while spending most of the offseason in the New York area.
He’s once again planning to train with Kreider and Quick at Prentiss Hockey Performance in Connecticut, with fellow rookie forward Brett Berard accepting an invitation to join the crew.
“Working out with those guys is definitely going to push me,” Berard said. “Being a smaller guy, you want to put on some weight. The way I play, I need to make sure I’m not getting knocked off pucks easily. … It’ll be a big summer − an important one for me, I think. Hopefully, I’ll come in ready.”
Meanwhile, top prospect Gabe Perreault is heading back to Boston College after a quick five-game NHL sample.
The 19-year-old sophomore arrived three weeks ago after signing his entry-level contract, but now he’s got a semester to finish before turning his attention to summer training.
“It’s definitely a little bit weird,” Perreault said with a smile. “But it’s exciting to see those guys that are still there, so it’ll be good to spend a couple more weeks with them.”
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NY Rangers exit interviews: Chris Kreider details ‘challenging’ season
