After mysteriously exiting last night’s game after the first period, speculation was rampant over whether the New York Rangers had traded Chris Kreider. Instead, the actual reason will keep him out of any lineup for the time being. Kreider was diagnosed with a blood clot in his right arm, and is out indefinitely while he seeks medical attention.
The Rangers did not release any information on the severity of the issue, but blood clots have put professional athletes’ careers in danger before. On Twitter, Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press linked to a piece he wrote in 2015 (while with the Canadian Press) about how more clots were affecting hockey players across the league, including Tomas Fleischmann, Tomas Vokoun and Kimmo Timonen. Clots can be extremely dangerous if they move to certain parts of the body, and even with medication can potentially put an end to athletic careers.
Obviously, everyone is hoping for Kreider to make a complete recovery and be back playing as soon as possible. Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports that he’s expected to miss six to eight weeks, though that can change in the coming days and weeks. For now, Vinni Lettieri could get an extended look as part of the Rangers forward group after being called up today.
Praying for ya Kreider!
Here I was hoping it wasn’t a break… A break would have been much better. Get well soon Kreids.