Chris Kreider’s future with the New York Rangers appears to be murky.
Throughout the 2024-25 season, Kreider has had to deal with a lot of scrutiny, some of it caused by him and some of it caused by Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury.
It started in November when Drury sent out a league-wide memo indicating he is interested in making moves to shake up their roster while specifically mentioning Chris Kreider’s name.
This move by Drury proved that Kreider may not be as safe with the Rangers as many would have thought.
For years Kreider was considered to be this untouchable piece for the Rangers and all of the sudden Drury threw out his name like it was nothing after a slow start to the season.
Despite never admitting it publicly, some people around the organization believe that Kreider was hurt from a mental standpoint due to Drury’s antics.
Kreider’s play and production also plummeted from the previous season. The 33-year-old forward went from recording 75 points to just 30 points this season.
As the year progressed, Kreider’s role seemed to diminish. He began to play a third-line role for the Rangers for parts of the season. Kreider averaged 16:45 minutes per game, his lowest total since the 2017-18 campaign.
Kreider’s decline was glaringly clear to everyone watching and to make matters worse, Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today reported that there’s a growing possibility of a divorce between Chris Kreider and the Rangers right before the NHL Trade Deadline in March.
He ultimately wasn’t traded, but it still felt as if the writing was on the wall for Kreider and his departure was inevitable.
That leads us to New York’s season finale on Thursday night. Kreider played alongside longtime linemate Mika Zibanejad, something that hasn’t happened for most of the year.
The feeling was that this could be the last time Kreider suited up for the Rangers and there was a lot of discussion about that postgame.
The media requested to talk with Kreider after the game to address speculation of his future, but he instead decided to hold off until the team’s breakup day next week to discuss what has been a long and grueling season.
Zibanejad was asked about Kreider possibly playing his last game for the Rangers and he didn’t want to get ahead of himself on what may or may not happen this upcoming summer regarding Kreider.
“You never know what's going happen, but we just tried to get to play together again,” Zibanejad said. “Just try to go out there and enjoy it. Try not to make it too big of a deal. We just wanted to finish off the season in a good way and try to have some fun. I thought we did.”
With all the storylines after the Rangers’ misery of season finally came to a close, it was Kreider’s future that was at the forefront of everybody’s mind.
With the Blueshirts’ breakup day coming up, all eyes will be on the veteran forward to see what he has to say and if he drops any hints into what his future could look like.
Anything is possible and things could change, but after 13 seasons in The Big Apple, Kreider will likely be in store for a new beginning.
