Chris Kreider is not concerned about his name popping up this week in trade rumors. But the respected New York Rangers veteran leader did shed some light on the team’s collective state of mind during a prolonged stretch of mediocre play which led general manager Chris Drury to consider ways to shake up a stale, underperforming roster.
“I think it’s pretty obvious there’s frustration, angst, tension,” Kreider told reporters in Raleigh ahead of New York’s game there Wednesday against the Carolina Hurricanes.
“Good. We’re 20 games in. Let’s go through this s–t now 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 go as far as we would’ve liked. We’re getting exposed right now. Our warts are out there and teams are picking on the things we don’t do well and we’ve gotten away from the things we do do well.”
That was quite the open and honest assessment of where the Rangers (12-7-1) are at through the first quarter of the 2024-25 season. After a fast 5-0-1 start, the Rangers are 7-7-0 — stealing several wins along the way despite subpar play — and have lost three straight games.
Prior to their most recent defeat, 5-2 to the St. Louis Blues at Madison Square Garden on Monday, reports surfaced that Drury reached out to every NHL team letting them know the Rangers are open to make a trade to shake things up. The names of Kreider and captain Jacob Trouba were prominently mentioned.
“I can’t really answer for others, for me, it’s part of the game,” Trouba said Tuesday. “I’m happy to be here. I love this group, love playing here. We’ve had a decent start to the season. We’ve kind of hit a rough patch and we’ve got to work our way out of it.”
Word leaked late Tuesday that Drury met with several Rangers veterans before the team boarded it’s flight to North Carolina. Kreider confirmed after the morning skate Wednesday that he’s had meetings with Drury, since he’s one of the team leaders.
The 33-year-old forward also downplayed the effects of the trade rumors on his game moving forward.
“Shouldn’t trivialize someone’s feelings, but how you feel doesn’t affect your ability to do something that you’ve done for the entirety of your life – unless you let it,” he said.
Related: Jacob Trouba opens up about Rangers trade rumors
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There’s a chance that Drury has no intention of making a trade so early in the season, but was trying to shake up or wake up the players. Certainly, the GM is not about to discuss his intentions.
But the Rangers do need to figure quite a few things out. They’re fourth in the Metropolitan Division, but not far behind and have games in hand on each team, including the Hurricanes, in front of them.
Plus, as Kreider indicated, better these struggles happen earlier in the season than closer to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The NHL trade deadline is still three-plus months away and there are 62 games to play before the postseason commences.
Their issues are no joke, though. And the Rangers have quite a bit to fix in every facet of their game. Their offense is largely one and done, with little sustained pressure and a heavy leaning on quick-strike goals and the power play. Defensively, the Rangers are far too often pinned in their end, losing puck battles and unable to get to their transition game. They’ve also allowed far too many goals off the rush.
“[Trades] are not in our control. But what is in our control is playing a better game [Monday] night. How we respond to it today and react to it tomorrow,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said Tuesday.
“Nobody’s happy the way we’ve played the last three games. We have to be better. Nobody’s skirting that. Nobody’s hiding from that. … To me, I think you’ve got to give players a chance to respond.”
Kreider won’t be in the lineup when the Rangers try to end their skid against the Hurricanes. He’ll miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury, which he termed “back spasms” on Wednesday. Kreider is tied for second on the Rangers with nine goals and three power-play goals, and leads the team with two short-handed goals.
Rookie Brett Berard replaced Kreider on a line alongside Mika Zibanejad against the Blues, and picked up an assist in his NHL debut. Laviolette wouldn’t commit to line combinations after the optional morning skate.
Filip Chytil, who’s been skating every day, also remains out for the Rangers. The 25-year-old center will miss his sixth consecutive game because of an upper-body injury.
