{"id":94225,"date":"2025-12-14T13:04:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T13:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/94225\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T13:04:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T13:04:08","slug":"chris-kreider-returns-to-new-york-rejuvenated-grateful-happy-with-ducks-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/94225\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Kreider returns to New York rejuvenated, grateful, happy with Ducks"},"content":{"rendered":"

IRVINE, Calif. \u2013 When the Orange County media\u2013all three of us\u2013got the chance to encircle Chris Kreider at Anaheim Ducks<\/a> practice ahead of the team\u2019s trip to New York City and his first game against the Rangers in Madison Square Garden\u2013the team and building that were his home for 13 years\u2013he opened the session in typical Kreider fashion.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean the Pittsburgh, Islanders, Devils, Rangers, Columbus trip? That one?\u201d Kreider deadpanned. \u201c10 points on the line? You want to talk about which game?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kreider is always quick with a dry disarming joke while trying to keep the focus on the here and now and off himself. When the Ducks practiced on Long Island last week, all he said to local media ahead of the team\u2019s three New York-area games was that it was a \u201cbusiness trip.\u201d<\/p>\n

Playing in the nation\u2019s No. 1 media market with a press corps that will certainly form a double-stacked wall around him at Monday\u2019s morning skate ahead of the Ducks-Rangers clash that night, the savvy 34-year-old certainly learned all the tricks to keep hockey journalists on their toes in a world of \u201cplaying our game\u201d and \u201cpucks in deep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGives me a good opportunity to get some more clothing,\u201d Kreider continued, delaying the inevitable questions. \u201cDefinitely didn’t bring enough warm, cold weather stuff. The Chicago and St. Louis trip was freezing, so I needed them. I need a down jacket.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite his sly protesting, Kreider admitted that Monday\u2019s Rangers reunion was something he\u2019s been looking forward to since the start of the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in that city,\u201d Kreider said. \u201cCame in, drafted at 18 years old, and hoping to one day play there, and then to spend my entire 20s and early 30s there, and start a family of my own. It became home, right? That’s hard to put into words. That means everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat experience, so incredibly grateful for everything that the organization gave me, the relationships I made within the organization, and outside the organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because of the when and how Kreider\u2019s trade from New York occurred in June following a tumultuous season of general manager memos, injuries and losses, there was no tearful goodbye to the MSG faithful for the third all-time goalscorer in Rangers history.<\/p>\n

After 883 games in a Blueshirts sweater, seventh-most all-time, it was hard for anyone to imagine Kreider wearing any other colors on that Madison Square Garden ice. However, come Monday night, that unexpected moment will come to pass, even if the man himself never saw it happening.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it’d be arrogant to try to predict what’s gonna happen next year, next month, next week, next day, like you don’t know,\u201d Kreider said.\u201d So you just take it all in stride. Obviously, things happen for a reason, and happy in the situation I\u2019m in currently. Hopefully, going there gives me an opportunity to see some people that obviously can’t see on the West Coast, right? Some friends, some family, some former teammates, and big two points on the line, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, I hope going back is more about Chris and his time there,\u201d Trouba said. \u201cHe was there a lot longer than I was. He’s up high on a lot of lists for franchise records, and I honestly do hope this is more about Chris and everything he did, being drafted there, how long he played there, and hope gets an extremely warm welcome for everything he did for the Rangers.\u201d<\/p>\n

No, he\u2019s not Mark Messier, Brian Leetch, Mike Richter or Rod Gilbert. He\u2019s not an Original 6-era stalwart, and he\u2019s not a 1994 Stanley Cup Champion.<\/p>\n

However, to a certain generation, the New York Rangers are, firstly, Henrik Lundqvist and, right beside him, Chris Kreider.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you talk about like icons of New York sports, he’s one of them for sure,\u201d former Rangers teammate and current Duck Ryan Strome said. \u201cJust because the big goals, the playoff goals, the big moments, and he hasn’t changed, which is the best thing about him.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Kreider\u2019s 13 years in New York, the Rangers went to four Eastern Conference Finals and advanced to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, where the Kings won in five games.<\/p>\n

Kreider is the team\u2019s all-time leader in playoff games and playoff goals, including a dramatic third-period hat trick to eliminate Carolina in 2024 and advance to the Eastern Final.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe meant everything to the organization,\u201d former Rangers teammate and current Duck Frank Vatrano said. \u201cI think if you look at his performances in the playoffs, I think he’s up there. He might be one of the best performers in the history of that franchise in the playoffs, the way he’s scored big time goals for them. You think New York Rangers, you would think Chris Kreider. We’re just fortunate enough to have him.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the Rangers\u2019 all-time franchise lists, Kreider is tied for first in regular-season power play goals (first in playoff power play goals), second in game-winning goals, fourth in shorthanded goals and 10th in points. This is a franchise that began play in 1926 and is currently celebrating its centennial year.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe deserves to be celebrated,\u201d Strome said. \u201cHe had a great career there, and I was surprised that they wanted to move on because of what he’s doing here right now. I think he could still be doing it on any team in the league. Really happy for him, and happy to have him here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Most Interesting Human Being in the League\u2019<\/p>\n

For all of his on-ice accolades, there is so much beyond the goals and points that made Chris Kreider an endearing figure to fans and teammates alike in New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cKreids, I’d say, is one of the most interesting human beings, probably, in the league. Maybe in the world,\u201d Vatrano said. \u201cHe’s got a great sense of humor, pretty dry. Very intelligent guy, but I think he’s a little bit too smart for himself at times, but overall he’s fun to be around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kreider can reportedly speak Russian and Spanish fluently with sprinklings of other languages, plus some musical proficiency with a guitar among other things.\u201cWe were talking last night. We knew that in prep school, he spoke Russian,\u201d Vatrano said. \u201cSo, I go, \u2018Can you have a conversation?\u2019 So he goes, \u2018Yeah, if it was a five-year-old.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Vatrano only spent all of 22 regular season games with the Rangers in 2022, plus another 20 playoff games. It was long enough for Kreider\u2019s open doors to make an impression.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s nice enough to let me stay in his apartment, so that was great,\u201d Vatrano said. \u201cThat was awesome for him to open up his doors. He wasn’t using his apartment in the city, so he let me stay there with my wife and our two dogs at the time. That was great. You didn’t have to do that, and that just shows what kind of guy he is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strome spent parts of four seasons with the Rangers with \u201ca year or two\u201d spent as Kreider\u2019s carpool partner from Manhattan to the team\u2019s practice facility in Tarrytown, New York, which is roughly 25 miles outside of the city. Strome said he and Kreider became close on the hour drives up and back.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had some crazy conversations,\u201d Strome said. \u201cHe’s a very cerebral person, very thoughtful, very smart. So for me, it was just great to hash it up with somebody all the time in the car about hockey or whatever it may be and hear his impact. Obviously, we see the world a little bit differently, but it was good to see what he thinks about things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s been around and had a lot of success. We had a lot of good times and some good laughs, and nice to see it carry over now. I don’t think some of the stuff he went through was warranted and deserved, and he handled it with class and like he always has. Nice to see him on the other side of it here and playing great for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The final season in New York was rough for the Rangers and for Chris Kreider.<\/p>\n

There was plenty of off-ice drama that plagued the team, which sent then-captain Jacob Trouba to Anaheim one year ago last week, which spilled over into on-ice play, but the most affecting for Kreider was the injuries.<\/p>\n

Kredier dealt with back issues, an illness that reportedly led to vertigo and a broken hand that needed surgery in the offseason. All in all, Kreider hit four-year lows in goals (22) and points (30) while battling through 68 games.<\/p>\n

In just 28 games in Anaheim, the 34-year-old looks primed to breeze past those totals back to his regular form. Kreider has 13 goals and 24 points and matched last season\u2019s power-play goals total with six.<\/p>\n

\u201cBest ability is availability,\u201d Kreider said. \u201cI think less energy is spent on trying to get yourself into a position where you feel like you can play and not hurt the team and just focus on helping the team and putting your best foot forward every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kreider has reinvigorated the Ducks power play unit, which has spent years in a malaise, and he\u2019s becoming a rallying point for younger players. He\u2019s helped spark a star-making season on Leo Carlsson\u2019s wing, and Beckett Sennecke has seemingly absorbed some of Kreider\u2019s netfront abilities.<\/p>\n

When Kreider speaks, Anaheim\u2019s young core clearly listens, and he\u2019s been a teachable example of getting to the front of the net and being rewarded for it, just as general manager Pat Verbeek said he would be when he was acquired.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always make the joke that he says he’s good at, like, five things,\u201d Strome said, \u201cand he tries to be really good at them and he’s always been like that. He scores, he goes to the net. He works hard, he skates. Keeps it really simple.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of mentioned in the summer, I think there was no doubt that he would just continue that here and be rejuvenated\u2026 It\u2019s been as advertised.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a healthy body, healthy mind and plenty of on-ice production, it\u2019s clear that Kreider has fit the Ducks like a glove. As Strome alluded to earlier, it\u2019s possible Kreider could have done this anywhere in the league\u2013maybe even New York\u2013but there has been a special synergy early in Anaheim.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think the group has made it super easy for me,\u201d Kreider said. \u201cBeing able to live close to Troy Terry and Jacob (Trouba), and obviously I already know Frank (Vatrano) and Ryan (Strome), but everyone here, it’s just a really fantastic group of guys. It’s just fun to come to the rink every single day. Everyone gets along super well. Everyone’s going in the same direction. Everyone has made\u2013not just the players, the coaches, but the whole staff, Gilly (Ducks communications director Alex Gilchrist, who observed last week\u2019s interview) in particular.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone’s just made it incredibly, incredibly\u2026 It’s not easy, but easier for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

That fun and levity for Kreider this year is most evident to the teammate that would know best\u2013Trouba, who rode that Rangers rollercoaster for parts of six seasons and three as captain until his Dec. 6 trade last season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn’t like a slight on anybody, but I think we’re having a lot more fun,\u201d Trouba said. \u201cWe spend a lot of time together. Live close to each other, drive to games, drive to practice together, and having fun on the ice, smiling. I don’t know. I just think we’re maybe a little more relaxed and out of that, you call pressure, whatever you want to call it, but I think we’re just having a lot more fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now that road leads back to Madison Square Garden, where after a frankly miraculous win to open the road trip back-to-back frustrating losses in the tri-state area have made Monday\u2019s clash with the Rangers an important two points for the Ducks, just as Kreider laid them out to be.<\/p>\n

Everyone expects a rousing reunion for Kreider. As each of his former and current teammates have said, it will be a well-deserved reception, and far from the last time No. 20 is hailed in New York City.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s a pretty massive, passionate fan base. Pretty incredible fanbase, especially when things are going well,\u201d Kreider said. \u201cIt’ll be interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"IRVINE, Calif. \u2013 When the Orange County media\u2013all three of us\u2013got the chance to encircle Chris Kreider at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":94220,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,824,165,164,26,8513,1717,17084,401,10370,51796,32185,9095,896,6755,100,404,4860,1722],"class_list":["post-94225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-ducks","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-breaking-news","tag-broadway","tag-chris-kreider","tag-frank-vatrano","tag-hockey","tag-jacob-trouba","tag-madison-square-garden","tag-manhattan","tag-mighty-ducks","tag-national-hockey-league","tag-new-york-rangers","tag-news","tag-nhl","tag-ryan-strome","tag-tst-los-angeles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}