If I told you a year ago that we’d be sitting here today, seeing Chris Kreider head west, after the Rangers imploded and fired another coach, you’d have stopped reading this blog. But here we are, in a reality beyond our worst nightmares. The changes began with the coaching change from Laviolette to Sullivan and now have hit the roster, with Kreider being the first to go. Will he be the last? That remains to be seen, but it feels unlikely given the rumors circulating around the club right now.

While it’s natural and understandable to be sad that Kreider is gone, heck I may be more than anyone as he has been my favorite player since he arrived on Broadway, the fact of the matter is that his departure was a necessary move. While I can’t say I know much about the prospect the Blueshirts acquired in exchange for Kreider, this trade is a flat-out salary dump designed to give the Rangers needed flexibility and begin the turnover of the locker room culture. There is no denying that number 20 was a great Ranger for 12 seasons, but that doesn’t obscure the fact that he was subpar on and off the ice last year, as one of the many disappointing players on the roster. While I want to be forward leaning about the team on this site, that doesn’t mean we can’t take a moment to celebrate Kreider’s best moments in a Ranger uniform.

Arriving with a Bang: The date was April 23rd, 2012, the night Chris Kreider announced himself to Rangers fans as a potential savior. The young winger had just signed from Boston College and in need of an offensive spark, head coach John Tortorella threw him into the lineup facing elimination against the Senators. That looming playoff exit would have been devastating to suffer as the team was the top seed in the east after a special regular season. Kreider took matters into his own hands off the feed from Derek Stepan to score the eventual game winner, setting up an eventual game 7 victory to advance to round two where his impact would only increase.

A DRIVE BY KREIDER: “SCORREEEE,” to finish the quote! After helping to play hero in the previous round, Kreider returned to the World’s Most Famous Arena in game one of round two and popped up again. This goal was really a harbinger of what “Chris Kreider at this best” would look like, as his finishing ability was almost outclassed by his explosiveness. His big bounding strides to outrun the Capitals defenders and open up space to rifle one past Braden Holtby, a goalie he would continue to get the best of for the next decade plus.

Season Saver: Fast forward to April 24th, 2013, a night the Rangers once again faced elimination, this time in round two against the heavily favored Boston Bruins. Kreider had a tough season in the strike shortened 2013 campaign, as John Tortorella had seemingly become disenchanted with the young winger. Kreider had been shuttled back and forth between Hartford and MSG during the season but got the call back to the big club in the playoffs and found a way to make an impact again. His game four OT winner set up Rick Nash, kept the Rangers alive for one more night, as his clutch reputation only grew in the process, setting up a big performance on the same stage next spring.

Just for Torts: Let’s jump ahead to the following fall, as the Rangers hosted the Canucks for a sleepy Saturday afternoon tilt at the Garden. Kreider had started the 13-14 season as a more consistent feature in the lineup under new coach Alain Vigneault. AV would be facing his former team in Vancouver, who were now coached by Tortorella after getting the boot from the Rangers the previous spring. A lot was made of Kreider facing the coach who didn’t turn to him much the previous year, with rumors of a personal feud motivating him. Whether that was real or not, who knows, but he sure looked motivated on route to a hat trick in this one.

Villain Arc: Let’s jump ahead to the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals. The Rangers are coming off of defeating the Flyers in round one and pulling a miraculous comeback to knock off Pittsburgh in round two. That sent them to Montreal to face the Canadiens, whose boisterous home crowd were all over the Rangers. Fortunately, the Blueshirts remained on a mission building an early lead, that Kreider was a big part of. Things kicked up a notch when number 20 went careening in goalie Carey Price, injuring him in the process. He’d later score on Price who then left the game, making Kreider public enemy number one in all of Quebec. While many ignored the fact that Price inadvertently caused the play by tripping Kreider, a fact CK20 reminded me and many other fans of at a signing a few years later, the Rangers kept on rolling. Kreider remained a force in the series, giving Montreal matchup nightmares and scoring big goals along the way, like the tally below to tie game three in the dying moments sending MSG into a frenzy. What a celly!

Season Saver…Again: Let’s jump ahead to the spring of 2015. The Rangers were coming off of record setting Presidents Trophy winning season but trailed the Capitals 3-1 in their round two series. Dreams of ending the Cup drought were seemingly dashed, trailing elimination game five 1-0 late. But up stepped that man again, as Chris Kreider came up the ice with the goalie pulled and blasted one by Braden Holtby to force overtime. The Rangers would win the game in OT thanks to a Ryan McDonagh tally, forcing a game six in DC that Kreider would score twice in, helping to force a seventh game the boys would win to advance again. While this was unfortunately another run that would come up short of the ultimate goal, this was probably Kreider’s most consistently good string of play in his brief career.

The 50 Club: Despite employing many a great talent through their 100-year history, the Rangers have only had three players score 50 goals in a season up until 2021-22. Vic Hadfield, Adam Graves and Jaromir Jagr were the only men to do it, until Chris Kreider joined the trio with a magical season. Number 20 had been on quite the journey since we last highlighted a big moment. The Rangers had gone through a rebuild, one he asked to stay through, all while dealing with a blood clotting issue that nearly ended his career early. But Kreider persisted and became a wonderful leader as the team drove towards a return to contention. That return was officially announced in 21-22 as the young squad blossomed on route to a trip to round three, led by a veteran Kreider who potted 50, mostly by just standing in front of the net tipping pucks. He enjoyed another big playoff run that year, keeping up his reputation of being Mr. Clutch.

The Eye of the Storm: Could number one be anything else? Let’s rewind a year, to a night where Chris Kreider channeled his inner Mark Messier and etched his name into Ranger lore. The Blueshirts were in their fifth “magical season” (or so we thought) of Kreider’s tenure, winning another Presidents Trophy, with dreams of ending a 30 year wait for Lord Stanley. They had coasted through their first seven playoff games, winning them all, with Kreider in the middle of the results. But they now seemed poised to blow a 3-0 series lead against Carolina coming off of a pair of tough losses and trailing game six in Raleigh 3-1 in the third. So up stepped Chris Kreider who scored not one, not two, but three goals to give the Rangers the lead, one they would not relinquish, winning the series to reach round three. I’ll never forget this night as I was at the MSG viewing party losing my mind, throwing my hat on the ice for a game played thousands of miles away. It’s heartbreaking this moment is little more than pyric victory with no Cup win, but for one night, we all felt like it really was our year…thanks to number 20.

With that trip down memory lane in the rear view, I’ll say it again, I am going to really miss Chris Kreider. I am going to miss his screaming celebrations, his explosive skating, his genuine love for the fan base, and sending his name in all caps in my text thread with my buddy Mike when he scored. Maybe last season undoes some of his legacy here for some fans, and frankly I understand it if you feel that way as it was that disappointing. I used to say I couldn’t wait to be at Chris Kreider’s number retirement ceremony but that’s probably unlikely as this stage and that’s okay. He will always have a beloved place in Rangers history, joining the ever-growing alumni pay roll when he eventually hangs it up. I wish him all the luck in the world with the Anaheim Ducks, where maybe he can join the ranks of former Rangers to win it all, though hopefully not at the Blueshirts expense. I leave you with a reminder of what he accomplished here, as it truly was that special. Thanks for the memories, Chris!

Category	Total	Franchise Rank
Games Played	883	8th
Goals	326	3rd
Points	582	10th
Power Play Goals	116	Tied for 1st
Short Handed Goals	13	4th
Game-Winning Goals	50	2nd
Playoff Goals	48	1st

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