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Chris Kreider

Metropolitan Notes: Texier, Pacioretty, Rangers

January 14, 2023 at 3:59 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

There was some surprise when it was announced that Blue Jackets winger Alexandre Texier would play this season in Switzerland instead of Columbus at his request to play closer to his family.  GM Jarmo Kekalainen told Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch that he’s hopeful that the 23-year-old will be able to return next season.  Texier has six goals and 14 assists with SC Bern of the NLA this season, good for seventh on the team in scoring with five of the six ahead of him also having NHL experience.  He has been a bit more productive in Champions League action, notching two goals and five assists in six games so far.  Texier is in the second and final year of his bridge deal with Columbus but is not counting against their salary cap during his absence.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • The Hurricanes won’t have Max Pacioretty in the lineup tonight while he is listed as doubtful tomorrow due to a lower-body injury per team reporter Walt Ruff (Twitter link). However, head coach Rod Brind’Amour indicated that he believes the winger’s injury isn’t believed to be too serious which suggests that Pacioretty shouldn’t be out much longer.  He just returned from a torn Achilles earlier this month and was off to a good start with his new team with three goals in four games.
  • Rangers winger Chris Kreider skated on his own today but is listed as doubtful for their upcoming games on Sunday and Monday, relays Arthur Staple of The Athletic (Twitter link). He suffered an upper-body injury earlier this week and missed Thursday’s game against Dallas.  While he’s not scoring at the rate he was last season when he had 52 goals, Kreider has still been productive with 19 goals and 11 assists through 42 games.  Meanwhile, Staple adds that winger Julien Gauthier, who was injured in a collision with teammate Sammy Blais on Thursday, has yet to skate and is out for Sunday’s game and likely Monday’s as well.  He has a career-high six goals in 32 games this season.

Alexandre Texier| Carolina Hurricanes| Chris Kreider| Columbus Blue Jackets| Julien Gauthier| Max Pacioretty| New York Rangers

0 comments

Snapshots: Canadiens Injuries, Pastrnak, Rangers Leadership Group, Blais

October 10, 2022 at 11:03 am CDT | by John Gilroy 6 Comments

After heading all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020-21, only to finish dead last in the NHL standings in 2021-22, it’s unclear exactly what is to be expected from the Montreal Canadiens this year. Injuries were a large part of what plagued the team last season, and heading into this season, they’re still a part of the headline. Of course, legendary goaltender Carey Price will be on LTIR and is unlikely to play this season, and it’s unclear if he’ll ever return. Still, there are some shorter-term updates available out of Montreal today.

For one, veteran defenseman Joel Edmundson, who is recovering from a back injury, was able to skate this morning and though his rehab is progressing, the team is still unable to provide a timetable for his return. Forwards Joel Armia and Emil Heineman will both be out with injury, Armia out one to two weeks with an upper-body injury and Heineman six weeks with a thumb injury. Defenseman Mike Matheson, who the team acquired in the Jeff Petry deal, is continuing to rehab a lower-body injury and is considered day-to-day. Finally, forwards and expected key contributors Nick Suzuki, Mike Hoffman, and Christian Dvorak, who had all been dealing with separate ailments, were back at practice this morning.

  • Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney spoke to the media this morning, including Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub, where he discussed a number of Bruins-related topics. Most notably, he touched on extension talks between the team and pending UFA forward David Pastrnak. While many teams and players, in hockey as well as other sports, generally put off contract talks once the season starts, that doesn’t appear to be the case here. Sweeney says the Bruins and Pastrnak have been talking almost every day and are comfortable talking into the regular season. While a deal isn’t done yet of course, the continued dialogue is clearly a good sign for the Bruins and their fans, showing Pastrnak presumably has interest in staying with the team.
  • Earlier this summer, the New York Rangers announced defenseman Jacob Trouba would be their next captain, remarkably their first since previous captain Ryan McDonagh was dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2018. In the interim, the team has relied on a group of alternate captains to fill their leadership group until they found the perfect fit for the vacant captaincy. Having now chosen Trouba as their man, the Rangers still have their contingent of alternates to go along with him, formally announcing them today. This season, the team will run with veterans Barclay Goodrow, Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin, and Mika Zibanejad as alternates.
  • Tough news for Rangers forward Sammy Blais, who had been out with injury since last November, as he’s still dealing with the aftermath of an upper-body injury suffered after taking a hit from New York Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov in their Saturday evening preseason contest. According to NHL.com’s Dan Rosen, the Rangers have said the forward will not practice today and is doubtful for tomorrow’s season opener against the, Tampa Bay Lightning.

Artemi Panarin| Barclay Goodrow| Boston Bruins| Chris Kreider| Christian Dvorak| David Pastrnak| Emil Heineman| Injury| Jacob Trouba| Joel Armia| Joel Edmundson| Mika Zibanejad| Mike Hoffman| Montreal Canadiens| New York Rangers| NHL| Nick Suzuki| Players

6 comments

Chris Kreider Undergoes Wrist Surgery

June 24, 2022 at 1:04 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 2 Comments

Chris Kreider certainly didn’t seem injured as he racked up ten goals and 16 points in 20 playoff games but apparently he was. The New York Rangers announced today that Kreider underwent successful wrist surgery to remove a small bone fragment. Luckily, he won’t be forced to miss any important time, as full recovery is expected in two to four weeks.

Kreider, 31, was one of the most impressive goal-scorers in the entire league this season, racking up 52 tallies in 81 games. Twenty-six of those came on the powerplay and an incredible 11 of them were game-winners, as the veteran forward continued to prove he is one of the most clutch performers in the sport. From the moment he entered the league, Kreider has been a playoff force, racking up 34 postseason goals in 100 contests. His three game-winners this year still lead all players in the playoffs, and if the Rangers expect to have any more success in the next few years, he’ll be a huge part of it.

Hopefully, this surgery doesn’t affect Kreider’s ability to shoot the puck next season, and he’ll be able to continue playing at the high bar he set this year. His mix of speed, power, and finishing ability is rare around the league, and the Rangers would certainly not have reached the Eastern Conference Finals without him.

Kreider is signed through the 2026-27 season and carries a cap hit of $6.5MM.

Chris Kreider| New York Rangers

2 comments

2022 King Clancy Trophy Nominees Announced

May 4, 2022 at 11:10 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 4 Comments

The NHL has announced the 31 nominees for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, annually presented to “the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” Last year’s winner was Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators.

Each team submits one nominee. This year’s are:

Anaheim Ducks: Ryan Getzlaf

Arizona Coyotes: Andrew Ladd

Boston Bruins: Nick Foligno

Buffalo Sabres: Jeff Skinner

Calgary Flames: Mikael Backlund

Carolina Hurricanes: Jordan Staal

Chicago Blackhawks: Connor Murphy

Colorado Avalanche: Nazem Kadri

Columbus Blue Jackets: Jack Roslovic

Dallas Stars: Jason Robertson

Detroit Red Wings: Alex Nedeljkovic

Edmonton Oilers: Darnell Nurse

Florida Panthers: Aleksander Barkov

Los Angeles Kings: Cal Petersen

Minnesota Wild: Matt Dumba

Montreal Canadiens: Jake Allen

Nashville Predators: Luke Kunin

New Jersey Devils: P.K. Subban

New York Islanders: Anders Lee

New York Rangers: Chris Kreider

Ottawa Senators: Nick Holden

Philadelphia Flyers: Scott Laughton

Pittsburgh Penguins: Bryan Rust

San Jose Sharks: Matt Nieto

Seattle Kraken: Jaden Schwartz

St. Louis Blues: Ryan O’Reilly

Tampa Bay Lightning: Victor Hedman

Toronto Maple Leafs: Wayne Simmonds

Vancouver Canucks: Bo Horvat

Vegas Golden Knights: Max Pacioretty

Washington Capitals: Garnet Hathaway

Winnipeg Jets: Josh Morrissey

Aleksander Barkov| Alex Nedeljkovic| Anders Lee| Andrew Ladd| Bo Horvat| Bryan Rust| Cal Petersen| Chris Kreider| Connor Murphy| Darnell Nurse| Garnet Hathaway| Jack Roslovic| Jaden Schwartz| Jake Allen| Jason Robertson| Jeff Skinner| Jordan Staal| Josh Morrissey| Luke Kunin| Matt Dumba| Matt Nieto| Max Pacioretty| Mikael Backlund| Nazem Kadri| Nick Foligno| Nick Holden| P.K. Subban| Ryan Getzlaf| Scott Laughton| Victor Hedman| Wayne Simmonds

4 comments

Nominees Announced For 2022 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

April 25, 2022 at 10:04 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 10 Comments

The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is given out annually to the NHL player who exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. The award has been voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association since 1968, and today they announced their nominees for 2022.

Past winners of the award include Oskar Lindblom (2021), Bobby Ryan (2020), Robin Lehner (2019), Brian Boyle (2018), Craig Anderson (2017), Jaromir Jagr (2016), Devan Dubnyk (2015), Dominic Moore (2014), and Josh Harding (2013).

Below are the nominees from each team:

Anaheim Ducks – Ryan Getzlaf

Arizona Coyotes – Andrew Ladd

Boston Bruins – Jake DeBrusk

Buffalo Sabres – Kyle Okposo

Calgary Flames – Chris Tanev

Carolina Hurricanes – Antti Raanta

Chicago Blackhawks – Dylan Strome

Colorado Avalanche – Jack Johnson

Columbus Blue Jackets – Justin Danforth

Dallas Stars – Tyler Seguin

Edmonton Oilers – Kris Russell

Florida Panthers – Anthony Duclair

Los Angeles Kings – Blake Lizotte

Minnesota Wild – Jared Spurgeon

Montreal Canadiens – Carey Price

Nashville Predators – Mark Borowiecki

New Jersey Devils – Nico Hischier

New York Islanders – Zdeno Chara

New York Rangers – Chris Kreider

Ottawa Senators – Anton Forsberg

Philadelphia Flyers – Kevin Hayes

Pittsburgh Penguins – Brian Boyle

St. Louis Blues – Vladimir Tarasenko

Seattle Kraken – Jaden Schwartz

Tampa Bay Lightning – Alex Killorn

Toronto Maple Leafs – Ondrej Kase

Vancouver Canucks – Luke Schenn

Vegas Golden Knights – Jack Eichel

Winnipeg Jets – Josh Morrissey

Washington Capitals – Nicklas Backstrom

Alex Killorn| Andrew Ladd| Anthony Duclair| Anton Forsberg| Antti Raanta| Blake Lizotte| Brian Boyle| Carey Price| Chris Kreider| Chris Tanev| Dylan Strome| Jack Eichel| Jack Johnson| Jaden Schwartz| Jake DeBrusk| Jared Spurgeon| Josh Morrissey| Justin Danforth| Kevin Hayes| Kris Russell| Kyle Okposo| Luke Schenn| Mark Borowiecki| Nicklas Backstrom| Nico Hischier| Ondrej Kase| Ryan Getzlaf| Tyler Seguin| Vladimir Tarasenko| Zdeno Chara

10 comments

Poll: Who Will Win The 2022 Rocket Richard Trophy?

February 6, 2022 at 11:45 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 2 Comments

Yesterday, we asked PHR readers to vote on who they thought would win the NHL scoring race and take home the Art Ross Trophy in 2022. Despite currently trailing by several points, Connor McDavid is polling ahead of Jonathan Huberdeau as fans believe the Edmonton Oilers superstar will regain his crown in the second half.

But what about the goal race? After never scoring more than 28 in a single season, Chris Kreider now leads the league with 33 tallies–including an incredible 17 on the powerplay–through his first 47 games. The big New York Rangers winger has been scoring at a ridiculous pace, finding the back of the net on 22.5% of his shots. Will that continue down the stretch with players like Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox feeding him with the man advantage, or will Kreider get passed by some of the former champions right behind him?

Leon Draisaitl, a former 50-goal scorer is right behind Kreider and is actually scoring at an even better pace. Through 42 games the Oilers’ forward has 32 goals, taking him to 231 through his 520-game NHL career. While he’s still just 26, Draisaitl is already on a Hall of Fame pace and could add to that legacy with another few individual trophies this year. Even his shooting percentage of 21.5% this season which would normally be considered inflated, isn’t that much higher than his normal number. One of the most accurate and efficient shooters in the game, Draisaitl has scored on 17.6% of the shots in his career.

If you want to win a Rocket though, you have to go through the guy in third place. Alex Ovechkin has taken the trophy nine times in his illustrious career and looks ready to compete for a tenth. Through 46 games Ovechkin has 29 goals, 21 of which have come at even-strength. That leads the league, meaning if the Washington Capitals captain starts finding the back of the net a little more on the powerplay things could change rapidly.

Since the 2012-13 season, only two players have finished a single season with more goals than Ovechkin. Sidney Crosby in 2016-17 and Auston Matthews last year, when he potted 41 in the shortened 56-game schedule. After a slow start and some missed games, Matthews is right back on track to defend his crown as the league’s best goal scorer with 29 in just 39 matches. That includes 22 in his last 22, a goal-per-game pace that the Toronto Maple Leafs superstar has flirted with for long stretches in the past. Given how many different ways the 24-year-old can score, it’s hard to bet against him even if the others got an early lead.

Other players who could quickly enter the conversation are Kyle Connor, Alex DeBrincat, and Filip Forsberg, though it’ll be hard to catch and pass that group at the top. It appears to be a four-man are at the moment with a quartet of the league’s best.

Who do you think will come out on top? Cast your vote below and make sure to leave another contender in the comments if you believe they’ll catch up in the second half.

[Mobile users click here to vote!]

Alex Ovechkin| Auston Matthews| Chris Kreider| Leon Draisaitl| Polls| Pro Hockey Rumors Originals

2 comments

NHL Announces Player Assignments For Skills Competition

February 3, 2022 at 2:49 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 12 Comments

The NHL All-Star Skills competition will take place tomorrow night in Las Vegas, and the league has announced ahead of time which players will participate in which events. The player assignments for the seven events are as follows:

Fastest Skater

Chris Kreider, NYR
Adrian Kempe, LAK
Kyle Connor, WPG
Evgeny Kuznetsov, WSH
Jordan Kyrou, STL
Dylan Larkin, DET
Cale Makar, COL
Connor McDavid, EDM           

Save Streak

Jack Campbell, TOR
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL
Frederik Andersen, CAR
Tristan Jarry, PIT
Cam Talbot, MIN
Juuse Saros, NSH
Thatcher Demko, VAN
John Gibson, ANA

Fountain Face-Off

Jonathan Huberdeau, FLA
Claude Giroux, PHI
Jordan Eberle, SEA
Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson
Roman Josi, NSH
Nick Suzuki, MTL
Zach Werenski, CBJ
Mark Stone, VGK

Hardest Shot

Adam Pelech, NYI
Timo Meier, SJS
Victor Hedman, TBL
Tom Wilson, WSH

Breakaway Challenge

Goalies: Manon Rhéaume & Wyatt Russell

Kirill Kaprizov, MIN
Trevor Zegras, ANA
Jack Hughes, NJD
Alex DeBrincat, CHI
Alex Pietrangelo, VGK

Las Vegas NHL 21 in ’22

Nazem Kadri, COL
Auston Matthews, TOR
Joe Pavelski, DAL
Steven Stamkos, TBL
Brady Tkachuk, OTT

Accuracy Shooting

Leon Draisaitl, EDM
Clayton Keller, ARI
Rasmus Dahlin, BUF
Sebastian Aho, CAR
Jake Guentzel, PIT
Troy Terry, ANA
Johnny Gaudreau, CGY
Patrice Bergeron, BOS
Jonathan Marchessault, VGK

Two new events, the Fountain Face-Off and 21 in ’22 will be held outside in the Bellagio fountain and Las Vegas strip respectively. Individual winners of each event will earn $30,000.

Adam Pelech| Adrian Kempe| Alex DeBrincat| Alex Pietrangelo| Andrei Vasilevskiy| Auston Matthews| Brady Tkachuk| Cale Makar| Cam Talbot| Chris Kreider| Claude Giroux| Clayton Keller| Connor McDavid| Dylan Larkin| Evgeny Kuznetsov| Frederik Andersen| Jack Campbell| Jack Hughes| Jake Guentzel| Joe Pavelski| John Gibson| Johnny Gaudreau| Jonathan Huberdeau| Jonathan Marchessault| Jordan Eberle| Jordan Kyrou| Juuse Saros| Kirill Kaprizov| Kyle Connor| Las Vegas| Leon Draisaitl| Mark Stone| Nazem Kadri| Nick Suzuki| Patrice Bergeron

12 comments

2022 NHL All-Star Game Rosters Revealed

January 26, 2022 at 1:00 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 31 Comments

Jan 26: After Batherson was injured last night, the league has announced that Brady Tkachuk will replace him and be the Senators’ representative.

Jan 13: During a live reveal on ESPN’s SportsCenter program in the United States, the National Hockey League unveiled their four divisional rosters for the 2022 NHL All-Star Game in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Eight skaters and two goalies were announced for each team, leaving one skater spot open for each division. That last spot will once again be decided by a fan vote, who they can select by voting at NHL.com/LastMenIn.

The head coaches of each team were announced earlier, decided by the teams in first place (by points percentage) in their division on New Years Day. Florida’s Andrew Brunette heads the Atlantic Division, Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour will coach the Metropolitan Division, Colorado’s Jared Bednar is the bench boss for the Central Division, and Vegas’ Peter DeBoer will serve as the Pacific Division’s coach.

Below are the full rosters for each division.

Atlantic Division

F Auston Matthews “C” (Toronto Maple Leafs)
F Drake Batherson (Ottawa Senators)
F Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins)
F Jonathan Huberdeau (Florida Panthers)
F Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings)
F Nick Suzuki (Montreal Canadiens)
D Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo Sabres)
D Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning)
G Jack Campbell (Toronto Maple Leafs)
G Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay Lightning)

Metropolitan Division

F Alex Ovechkin “C” (Washington Capitals)
F Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes)
F Claude Giroux (Philadelphia Flyers)
F Jack Hughes (New Jersey Devils)
F Chris Kreider (New York Rangers)
D Adam Fox (New York Rangers)
D Adam Pelech (New York Islanders)
D Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets)
G Frederik Andersen (Carolina Hurricanes)
G Tristan Jarry (Pittsburgh Penguins)

Central Division

F Nathan MacKinnon “C” (Colorado Avalanche)
F Kyle Connor (Winnipeg Jets)
F Alex DeBrincat (Chicago Blackhawks)
F Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota Wild)
F Clayton Keller (Arizona Coyotes)
F Jordan Kyrou (St. Louis Blues)
F Joe Pavelski (Dallas Stars)
D Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche)
G Juuse Saros (Nashville Predators)
G Cam Talbot (Minnesota Wild)

Pacific Division

F Connor McDavid “C” (Edmonton Oilers)
F Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers)
F Jordan Eberle (Seattle Kraken)
F Johnny Gaudreau (Calgary Flames)
F Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles Kings)
F Timo Meier (San Jose Sharks)
F Mark Stone (Vegas Golden Knights)
D Alex Pietrangelo (Vegas Golden Knights)
G Thatcher Demko (Vancouver Canucks)
G John Gibson (Anaheim Ducks)

Adam Fox| Adam Pelech| Adrian Kempe| Alex DeBrincat| Alex Ovechkin| Alex Pietrangelo| Andrei Vasilevskiy| Auston Matthews| Cale Makar| Cam Talbot| Chris Kreider| Claude Giroux| Clayton Keller| Connor McDavid| Drake Batherson| Dylan Larkin| Frederik Andersen| Jack Campbell| Jack Hughes| Joe Pavelski| John Gibson| Johnny Gaudreau| Jonathan Huberdeau| Jordan Eberle| Jordan Kyrou| Juuse Saros| Kirill Kaprizov| Kyle Connor| Leon Draisaitl| Mark Stone| Nathan MacKinnon| Nick Suzuki| Patrice Bergeron| Rasmus Dahlin| Sebastian Aho| Thatcher Demko| Timo Meier| Tristan Jarry| Victor Hedman| Zach Werenski

31 comments

Injury Notes: Klingberg, Senators, Dowd

October 24, 2021 at 12:58 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

It looks like the Dallas Stars will receive a huge boost for their game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night in the form of a healthy John Klingberg. Head coach Rick Bowness said Sunday morning that Klingberg “should” return, but that the team won’t have full confirmation until tomorrow. The 29-year-old defenseman was injured in the team’s season opener and missed the succeeding four games, playing just 10:21 before suffering a lower-body injury. He’ll look to provide a boost with his offensive instincts to a team that’s scored just ten goals through their first five games.

More injury notes from around the league:

  • There’s some updates on the injury front in Ottawa, as TSN reports goalie Matt Murray has been moved to injured reserve with a neck injury after being run into by the Rangers’ Chris Kreider on Saturday afternoon. He’ll miss at least the next ten days. It also appears center Shane Pinto will be out for a shorter term than expected, as head coach D.J. Smith he’s only expected to be absent for a week or two. A prompt return would be a good break for both him and the team, as Pinto had begun to impress in a top-six role.
  • Washington Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette says the status of Nic Dowd for the team’s one-game road trip to Ottawa on Monday night is in question. Dowd is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He played in all of the team’s overtime loss to the Calgary Flames on Saturday, so even if he does miss that contest, it doesn’t appear he’ll be out for any sort of term. The native of Huntsville, Alabama has one goal in five games this season.

Calgary Flames| Chris Kreider| Columbus Blue Jackets| D.J. Smith| Dallas Stars| Injury| John Klingberg| Matt Murray| New York Rangers| Nic Dowd| Ottawa Senators| Peter Laviolette| Rick Bowness| RIP| Shane Pinto| Washington Capitals

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Latest On Rangers’ Vitali Kravtsov

October 21, 2021 at 8:13 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 28 Comments

Young New York Rangers forward Vitali Kravtsov remains at home in Russia, having requested a trade from the organization when he failed to crack the NHL roster. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple reports that the team is holding out hope that he may return, but for now Kravstov is unwilling to consider rejoining the club. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman even notes that Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant called Kravtsov himself and asked him to come back, but to no avail. As Staple opines, the team needs to be cautious about potentially losing another top-ten draft pick and talented import after the Lias Andersson fiasco, but may not have another option.

Why the animosity from Kravtsov toward New York? While the official statement has been that the decision was made purely as a result of again not being afforded an NHL opportunity with the Rangers, Staple believes there is more going on behind the scenes. Multiple league sources have stated that the relationship between Kravtsov and GM Chris Drury is strained, to say the least. Dating back to his time as GM of the AHL’s Hartford Wolfpack, Drury and Kravtsov have had a number of run-ins and Staple feels that Drury’s promotion signaled to Kravtsov that his time as a Ranger was over.

However, other opinions on the situation do exist. The New York Post’s Larry Brooks believes that Kravtsov’s malcontent is actually more about opportunity than it is about Drury. Brooks reports that Kravtsov was not just unhappy that he did not make the cut this year, but that he would never get a top-six chance with the Rangers. It is actually a grounded theory, as established stars Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider and recent top picks Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko appear to have a stranglehold on the top-six winger roles in the short- and long-term. (The one top-six roadblock that was moved was Pavel Buchnevich, who also happened to be a friend and mentor to Kravtsov.) It is very conceivable that Kravtsov, whose work ethic and drive have been called into question before, sees these players not as a challenge but as an excuse to ask for a move elsewhere.

Regardless of his reasoning, the fact remains that Kravtsov has requested a trade and it does not seem likely that he will back off of that stance any time soon. Though the Rangers are reportedly asking for a high price for the skilled, but unproved forward, they very well might just have to take the best offer they can get and move on, just as they did with Andersson. A recent report claimed that upwards of 15 teams have inquired about Kravtsov, though Staple qualifies that claim by noting that many teams are merely curious to get the background on the current situation. Brooks echoed that sentiment by adding that interest has been “lukewarm” and there are no hard offers on the table. A trade may not be that far off though, as Friedman hears that those teams who have talked to Kravtsov’s camp have been told that he does want to return to North America and may even be open to an AHL assignment, just not with the Rangers. The Chicago Blackhawks, who hold the other most talked-about trade target early this season, Dylan Strome (brother of Rangers’ Ryan Strome) are considered a suitor which could result in the resolution of two bad situations with one trade. Only time will tell, but if Kravtsov really has no intention of ever returning to New York then a trade should materialize sooner rather than later.

AHL| Alexis Lafreniere| Artemi Panarin| Chris Drury| Chris Kreider| Elliotte Friedman| Gerard Gallant| Kaapo Kakko| Lias Andersson| New York Rangers

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