For the first time in a long time, Chris Kreider’s name is on the trading block.
New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury sent a memo to the NHL saying he is willing to trade Kreider on Sunday.
For a player who spent all thirteen seasons of his career in New York. This kind of news comes as a shock and involves a lot of emotion.
When Kreider was first asked about these trade rumors, he didn’t shy away from the topic.
“You shouldn’t minimize someone’s feelings, but how you feel doesn’t affect your ability to do something you’ve done your whole life — unless you let it,” Kreider said, via Mollie Walker of The New York Post.
According to Arthur Staple of The Athletic, Drury met with Kreider on Tuesday because the conversation was honest and productive.
Kreider has scored nine goals in 19 games, but the 33-year-old is not playing at the level we are used to seeing.
The adversity the Rangers are currently experiencing could be positive or negative depending on how the team handles the saturation and Kreider knows that.
“I think it’s pretty clear that there is frustration, fear and tension,” Kreider said, via The New York Post. “Good. We’re twenty games in. Now let’s go through this and figure out who we are. We had the best regular season in the history of an Original Six franchise last year, won a Presidents’ Trophy and didn’t get as far as we would have liked. We are now exposed. Our warts are there and teams are picking up on the things we are not doing well and we have moved away from the things we are doing well.
“We don’t necessarily know what this is at this point, right? This could just be part of the story. We look back on this and say, ‘This made us better.’
The Rangers are currently on a three-game losing streak and haven’t been playing their best hockey in recent weeks.
Just over a month into the season, the Rangers are already dealing with internal locker room issues and trade rumors clouding their fortunes.
It’s not a great situation to be in, but it’s better that this all happens now as the veteran team has months to get back on track in their pursuit of a Stanley Cup.
