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Case for, against Rangers retiring Chris Kreider’s number 20
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- Case for, against Rangers retiring Chris Kreider’s number 20
Brad Penner-Imagn Images Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Chris Kreider is no longer the longest-tenured member of the New York Rangers . A career that began when he was tossed right into the fire in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs ended on June 12 when the 34-year-old was traded to the Anaheim Ducks for forward prospect Casey Terrance and a swap of picks in the 2025 NHL Draft.
The deal came after arguably the poorest season of Kreider's tenure on Broadway. After scoring at least 36 goals in each of the previous three seasons, he managed just 22. His eight assists and 30 points were full-season lows. Poor health (including hand problems and vertigo) were part of the problem, as was the Rangers ' nearly complete collapse after winning the Presidents' Trophy in 2023-24. Not to mention that infamous trade memo to all the NHL GMs from Chris Dury that prominently included Kreider's name.
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But all that aside, there was a definite drop-off in his play.
Still, Kreider is unquestionably one of the top Rangers in the 21st century – and there's a case to be made that he's No. 1 among non-goaltenders. No Rangers player in this century has come close to equaling his 326 goals, and his third-period hat trick in Game 6 of the 2024 Eastern Conference Second Round that eliminated the Carolina Hurricanes is one of the all-time clutch moments in franchise history.
But should Kreider's No. 20 join the pantheon of Rangers greats who have their numbers hanging in the rafters at Madison Square Garden? Assuming Kreider remains healthy, he has two years remaining on his contract and could play beyond that, so it's not a question that must be decided right away.
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But when Kreider hangs up his skates, there figures to be a lot of conjecture about whether No. 20 should be retired.
Related: Chris Kreider uses Shoulder Check Showcase to say goodbye to Rangers fans
Yes, Rangers should retire Chris Kreider's No. 20
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The only two Rangers who scored more goals during their time in New York were longtime friends and linemates Rod Gilbert (406) and Jean Ratelle (336 before he was traded to the Boston Bruins in November 1975). Along with Kreider, they are the only three Rangers to break the 300-goal mark; Adam Graves, who's fourth, scored 280 with the Blueshirts – eight more than Hockey Hall of Famer Andy Bathgate , who played on some awful teams in the late 1950s and early '60s. Ironically, each wore No. 9; that number is retired in honor of both players.
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Kreider is 10th in Rangers history with 582 points, seven behind longtime teammate Mika Zibanejad for the most since 2000. He is the only one of the top 10 who has more goals than assists (256), hence the relatively low points total. Kreider exceeded 70 points only twice, finishing with 77 (52 goals, 25 assists) in 2021-22 and 75 (39 goals, 36 assists) in 2023-24.
It was no secret that Kreider was among the most dangerous players the past few years when it came to scoring on the power play. Half of his 52 goals in '21-22 came with the man advantage, and he shares the team record for career PPGs with Camille Henry (116). More interesting is the fact that he became a dangerous penalty-killer in his latter seasons with the Rangers; his 13 shorthanded goals are the most since 2000 and fourth in team history behind Mark Messier (23), Graves (16) and Don Maloney (14).
Kreider is also second in Rangers history with 50 game-winning goals, four more than Ratelle; only Gilbert (52) had more.
And we haven't even begun to talk about his playoff numbers. Kreider's team-record 48 postseason goals are 14 more than Gilbert, who's second all-time. His 12 game-winners are five more than Messier, who's second with seven. He's also first in games played (123, one more than Dan Girardi ) and third in points with 76 (Brian Leetch is first with 89, followed by Messier with 80).
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All in all, there's a pretty strong case to be made that Kreider's number needs a spot in the rafters at MSG.
No, Chris Kreider wasn't quite good enough to have number retired by Rangers
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Before his 52-goal season in 2021-22, Kreider was a good player but not one who made a major impact on most nights. In fact, he was often derided by coaches, fans and the media for his wildly inconsistent play the majority of his time in New York.
He reached the 20-goal mark six times in his first eight NHL seasons but never scored more than 28. Kreider exceeded 50 points just twice during that time (53 in 2016-17, 52 in 2018-19 – the two times he scored 28 goals). He was useful but not prolific on the power play, reaching double figures in PPGs just once (11 in 2020-21).
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Exactly half (58 of 116) of his power-play goals were scored in the first eight full seasons of his time on Broadway, but of all the Rangers who played more than 100 games during Kreider's first eight seasons, he was 10th in average power-play time at 2:32 per game.
He was rarely used as a penalty-killer during those years and did not have a short-handed goal before the 2021-22 season. That's not surprising, since he averaged just four seconds of short-handed ice time per game.
Perhaps the best indicator of Kreider's status on the team was his ice time. Prior to 2021-22, he never averaged more than 17:24 in any of his eight seasons.
And the verdict is …
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As someone who's watched the Rangers from the time of Bathgate in the late 1950s and early 1960s to the present day, I have mixed feelings about putting Kreider's No. 20 alongside true Rangers immortals like Leetch, Gilbert and Messier.
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Kreider was a solid-but-unspectacular player through his 20s, never even reaching the 30-goal mark. But he did score some massive postseason goals in that time and became one of the League's most feared goal-scorers after turning 30 on April 30, 2021. No Rangers player can match Kreider's 127 goals in a three-season span from 2021-22 through 2023-24 at any age, let alone after turning 30.
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Of the four Rangers who've scored 50 goals in a season (Vic Hadfield, Graves and Jaromir Jagr are the others), Kreider most resembles Hadfield, the Blueshirts' first 50-goal scorer (50 in 1971-72). Like Kreider, Hadfield had multiple 20-goal seasons but never reached the 30-goal mark before his big season. Also, his 50-goal season came after his 30th birthday.
Hadfield's No. 11 was retired in December 2018 (it had already been retired in honor of Messier in January 2006, which is why there are two banners with the same number in the Garden rafters). At some point, though perhaps not until the 2030s, expect Kreider's No. 20 to join them as he becomes the 12th player in team history to receive a team's ultimate honor.
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