It was a rough season for the New York Rangers, as well as one of their veterans. Now, we have an idea why.
During locker-clean-out day on Monday, Rangers forward Chris Kreider revealed that he had been dealing with numerous ailments throughotu the 2024-25 campaign. He said he had back problems during the season, as well as suffering an illness that led to him experiencing vertigo, along with receiving a hand injury in the first game after the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
The injuries and issues with Kreider’s body led to him missing 14 games this season, with his 68 appearances being the fewest he’s played in since the COVID-shortened 2021 campaign. He was able to play just about all of the Rangers’ games from March 1 onward. The 33-year-old was relatively productive in the final weeks of the season, registering seven points in the final nine games of the year.
However, the longest-tenured Ranger scored just 22 goals and eight assists for 30 points, far off the pace that led to Kreider scoring 75 points last season. That year, the Rangers won the President’s Trophy, making it all the way to the Eastern Conference Final. However, the Blueshirts followed that up by missing the playoffs entirely this season, marking just the fourth time in NHL history that a team won the President’s Trophy but wasn’t good enough to make the postseason the following year.
Kreider’s name was also involved in trade rumors throughout the year, despite having been with the franchise since they drafted him in 2009. General manager Chris Drury released a memo saying that many of the Rangers’ top stars were available for trade talks, which led to captain Jacob Trouba being dealt to the Anaheim Ducks.
While Kreider survived the season without being moved, and with two more seasons left on his seven-year contract, he’s made it clear he wants to stay with the Rangers.
“This is home for me,” Kreider told the media. “This is the organization that gave me an opportunity to live out my dream. So obviously this is where I want to be and this is the group that I want to help in whatever fashion.”
Kreider has appeared in 883 for the Rangers, scoring 326 goals and 256 assists for 582 points, including 76 points in 123 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
