Let’s talk about Chris Kreisder’s role on the New York Rangers.
Kreider was drafted by the Rangers in 2009 as the 19th overall pick. Kreider had a successful career before playing professionally. He won an NCAA title with Boston College and was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team all in 2010. Later in the 2011-2012 season, Kreider won another NCAA title and finished the year with 23 goals having 44 points in 45 games. He’s also played for the United States in World Juniors and World Championship with 17 goals and 11 assists in total.
In 2012, Kreider signed a contract with the Rangers where he made his NHL debut in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Since then, Kreider has been a huge part of the team and has become a fan favorite. His game has developed a lot and fans have seen that. Through his whole career, Kreider has had 133 goals and 138 assists. This past season he scored 28 goals and had 24 assists.
At the beginning of last season, Kreider was a scoring machine. He was on pace to have a 40 goal season and although that didn’t happen, fans can see why he got an ‘A’ this season.
With the Rangers developing such a young team during their rebuild, veterans like Kreider and Zibanejad have become leaders. While Kreider is only 28 years old, he’s been with the team for a long time and has been consistent with them producing over 30 points for the past six seasons. It could even be possible Kreider is in the running to become captain of the Rangers, if he is still with the team. The New York Rangers traded veterans Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes during the trade deadline, and that could mean they might want to deal Kreider. As of now, Kreider is on a 4-year contract that he signed in 2016 making him a UFA in 2020.
If Chris Kreider stays with the Rangers he will continue to have a leadership role on the team. With many young players already, plus the draft coming up, Kreider will be one of the older teammates making him someone to look up to.
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