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New York Rangers Daily: Waiting on Chris Kreider; Panthers can push Oilers to brink in Cup Final
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- New York Rangers Daily: Waiting on Chris Kreider; Panthers can push Oilers to brink in Cup Final
Jim Cerny
We wake up Thursday morning and Chris Kreider is still a member of the New York Rangers , as he's been since they selected him No. 19 overall in the 2009 NHL Draft. It's likely that by Friday morning Kreider will no longer be on the Rangers roster.
As Larry Brooks reported, the Rangers and Anaheim Ducks have a trade agreement in place , centered on Kreider moving across the country in return for center prospect Carey Terrance and possibly a draft pick or swap of picks. It's up to the longest-tenured player currently on the Rangers roster if he'll waive his no-trade clause to allow the deal to go through.
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Most believe it's semantics since the popular forward gave the OK for Rangers general manager Chris Drury to negotiate with the Ducks. Unlike the previous botched departures of respected veterans Jacob Trouba and Barclay Goodrow , and that leaked trade memo with Kreider's name on it in November, Drury made sure to communicate better with Kreider's camp every step of the way this offseason.
Of course, that's really every step toward the exit door. It appears now that there really never was much of a chance that Kreider would return for a 14th season on Broadway. Not with Drury focused on retooling the roster, breaking up the long-standing core, and certainly not with Kreider making $6.5 million annually for two more years.
That's valuable salary cap space the Rangers desperately need. The most important part of this trade is that Anaheim takes on the entirety of Kreider's contract.
Reportedly, Kreider could've signed off on the trade Wednesday. He didn't. Knowing him for as well and as long I do, it's not a surprise. He's very deliberate, extremely cerebral, detail oriented. He's not going to rush, uproot his young family, move on and turn the page on the only NHL home he's known in a snap of the fingers.
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Maybe he signs off on the trade Thursday. Perhaps Friday. The long goodbye, which really began with that trade memo seven months ago is nearly over. And Chris Kreider will no longer be a New York Ranger.
As a personal side note, the main photo in this article has been in my phone since 2013. That spring, when I worked for the Rangers, me, Kreider, Marty Biron and our great producer Mike Bahrenburg went to Boston College on a day off during the second-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins . We filmed a fun Biron's Journal segment for the team web site, Kreider taking us on a tour of his school, where he won a second NCAA National Championship just the year before. The video is included here.
Kreider was a 22-year-old young professional, a kid really, at the time. Now, more than a decade later, he's 34, scored the third-most goals in franchise history (326), is the most productive postseason scorer all-time for the Rangers, and is about to exit stage left.
New York Rangers news
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Here's all we know about that possible Chris Kreider trade to the Ducks .
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Worth revisiting is a story from last month detailing why trading Kreider makes sense for the Rangers .
Our Benjamin Lefkowitz breaks down why a Brian Dumoulin – Mike Sullivan reunion could make sense for the Rangers this summer.
So, reportedly, Filip Chytil was nearly flipped ahead of the trade deadline by the Vancouver Canucks , a mere five weeks after they acquired the center from the Rangers.
There's at least one veteran NHL expert who believes that Sullivan's "know-how and high demands" will be enough to get the Rangers back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs next season.
Our Eric Charles breaks down what exactly the Rangers learned at the NHL Draft combine that could affect whom they select with the No. 12 overall pick.
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NHL news and rumors
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TSN: Down 2-1 in the Stanley Cup Final and coming off a 6-1 loss, the Edmonton Oilers could make some changes to their lineup for Game 4 on Thursday, including in goal, though coach Kris Knoblauch won't give away any details.
Sportsnaut: The Oilers, of course, will need to keep their cool against the agitating Florida Panthers in Game, something they did not do when they came unglued in their ugly Game 3 loss.
Sportsnaut:ICYMI, Panthers coach Paul Maurice provided yet another classic quip when interviewed by TNT's Jackie Redmond on the bench during Game 3.
Colorado Hockey Now: Cale Makar of the Avalanche won the Norris Trophy as the top NHL defenseman for the second time in his career.
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The Athletic ($$): A great article by Pierre Lebrun, who breaks down why this could be the craziest NHL offseason in recent memory, and dives into several NHL topics and rumors.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Dan Kingerski shares his takeaways after former Rangers assistant Dan Muse was officially introduced as Penguins coach Wednesday.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: But that's not all from the Penguins. Kingerski confirmed reports that a group led by Penguins legend and former owner Mario Lemieux are interested in buying the team back from current owners, Fenway Sports Group.
Sportsnet: Jonathan Toews is expected to announce before July 1 which team he'll make his return with. Here's a solid breakdown of his best options .
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Las Vegas Review Journal: Despite rumors to the contrary, the Golden Knights are not looking to trade center William Karlsson .
TSN: The collective bargaining agreement is not set to expire until Sept. 15, 2026, but the NHL and NHLPA have been negotiating during the Stanley Cup Final and it's reported a new CBA could be agreed to "sooner rather than later," ensuring continued labor peace moving forward.
NHL.com: T.J. Oshie made it official, announcing his retirement after 16 NHL seasons.
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