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Chris Kreider

Metropolitan Notes: Kreider, Gardiner, Konecny

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The New York Rangers have made a number of key improvements to their team with two significant moves that have affected the team’s salary cap situation. The Rangers signed star winger Artemi Panarin to a seven-year, $81.5MM deal on July 1, but also traded for defenseman Jacob Trouba and signed him to a seven-year, $56MM deal. While the team had plenty of cap space, the team now is somewhere between $900K and $1.55MM over the cap and that’s not including a number of restricted free agents left to sign, including Pavel Buchnevich, Brendan Lemieux, Anthony DeAngelo and Vinni Lettieri.

Because of that, The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello (subscription required) writes that with those kinds of cap issues which should only get more challenging in the future, it likely ends the team’s run with forward Chris Kreider. The 28-year-old is in the final year of his contract and would likely seek a deal somewhere around seven years at $7MM per season, something that the Rangers can’t afford for a inconsistent forward who will be 29 years old when the new contract kicks in. It makes more sense that the Rangers will try to unload Kreider now for the most possible return to help with their cap issues.

  • In an article looking at three ways to improve the New Jersey Devils roster this offseason, NJ.com’s Chris Ryan writes that in a summer in which general manager Ray Shero has made some savvy moves, including acquiring P.K. Subban from Nashville for practically nothing as well as signing forward Wayne Simmonds to a one-year, $5MM “prove it” deal, the team can still make upgrades. He writes that the team should consider signing free-agent defenseman Jake Gardiner, who remains unsigned, in hopes of bolstering their weak left-side which has just Andy Greene, Will Butcher and Mirco Mueller there. Even Ty Smith, who is left-handed, played on the right side in junior, so there is a realistic opening on the left side and Gardiner might be a good fit there, assuming he’d be willing to come down from his rumored $7MM pricetag.
  • With a few key restricted free agent forwards already having signed, the Courier Post’s David Isaac writes in his mailbag piece that he believes that Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny is likely to sign within the next few weeks, especially now that a couple significant comparables have signed. the scribe writes that with Timo Meier having signed for four years at $6MM with San Jose and Jakub Vrana agreeing to a two-year deal at $3.35MM, it has set a market for Konecny. It’s likely that Konecny will fall somewhere between the two. The 24-year-old has had two straight 24-goal seasons and had a career-high 49 points last season. With the legitimate potential that a breakout season could come soon, it’s much more likely that Konecny opts to sign a short-term bridge deal over a long-term one.

Metropolitan Notes: Williams, Voracek, Kreider

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It’s been a busy offseason for the Carolina Hurricanes as the team has worked hard to improve their roster in hopes of keeping themselves relevant after a impressive playoff run last season. The team has already signed restricted free agent Sebastian Aho after matching the offer sheet he signed with the Montreal Canadiens. The team traded for Erik Haula and signed Ryan Dzingel to a reasonable deal as well. They also brought back goaltender Petr Mrazek to bolster their goaltending.

However, there is one thing still missing from their offseason so far and that’s a decision from veteran forward Justin Williams. News & Observer’s Luke DeCock writes that while Williams is still trying to decide whether he will return for a 19th season. The 37-year-old was still quite productive last season, putting up 23 goals and 53 points. However, he wants time before committing for another season.

DeCock writes that the expectation among the team is that Williams will return, but at the same time, no one really knows what he will do. However, Williams return could make a huge difference to their fortunes next season. While the team likely doesn’t need him to be a top-six scorer anymore, the team needs his leadership and abilities as he would get a simpler role as a bottom-six option.

  • The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor (subscription required) analyzes the recent play of Philadelphia Flyers forward Jakub Voracek, who has seen his role as a top-line forward change. The 29-year-old has moved to the second line and is starting to see a change in his long-time role, according to O’Connor, who writes that the veteran is no longer a play-driver like he has been in previous years. Since signing his eight-year, $66MM deal back in 2015, he’s hasn’t put up peak numbers with the exception of his 2017-18 season in which he put up 20 goals and 85 points. While he once was a player who could lead a pair of rookies on his line, the belief is that he is no longer that player. While still a solid middle-six option, it looks like Voracek is entering a new phase in his career even though he has five more years at $8.25MM AAV.
  •  The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman (subscription required) writes the New York Rangers must make a decision on what they want to do with Chris Kreider. The 28-year-old forward is in the final year of his contract and should acquire a significant raise from his $4.63MM AAV this season. Goldman writes that while the team technically could wait to make a decision on whether they want to re-sign Kreider until the trade deadline next year, waiting that long could have its own problems. With Artemi Panarin, Jacob Trouba, Kappo Kaako and Vitali Kravtsov expected to join their lineup this season, the team could challenge for a playoff spot, which might make it difficult for the Rangers to trade off Kreider and then the team could conceivably lose him for nothing if they don’t intend to bring him back. With rumors that it might cost New York seven years at $7.3MM per season, the team has to make a big decision soon.

Atlantic Notes: Sabres 2020 Offseason, Heinen, Chiarot

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While the Florida Panthers received all the attention before free agency opened on July 1 due to their excessive amount of cap space and they fact that they were attracting several of the top free agents on the market, next year’s offseason will look quite a bit different. In fact, it could be the Buffalo Sabres that could be poised to take a similar role next year before free agency opens and could find themselves the team that could lock up some of the top free agents for the 2020-21 season.

The Athletic’s John Vogl (subscription required) writes that while a lot can change in a year, Buffalo has only nine key players under contract for the 2020-21 season along with six restricted free agents. The team is expected to be free of a number of contracts, including Zach Bogosian ($5.14MM), Marco Scandella ($4MM), Vladimir Sobotka ($3.5MM), Conor Sheary ($3MM), Jimmy Vesey ($2.28MM), Matt Hunwick ($2.25MM), Scott Wilson ($1.05MM) and Casey Nelson ($812K). Assuming the salary cap rises by approximately $2MM, the Sabres should have about $29.5MM of projected salary cap, and assuming general manager Jason Botterill can properly persuade them, could add a couple of top free agents.

Who could be available, assuming that some of them don’t re-sign with their teams in the next season? Taylor Hall, Nicklas Backstrom, Brayden Schenn, Chris Kreider, Mike Hoffman, Alex Galchenyuk, Torey Krug, Jake Muzzin, Tyson Barrie, Roman Josi, and Braden Holtby.

  • While it’s been assumed for some time that Marcus Johansson would not return to Boston, (he signed with Buffalo earlier today), The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa (subscription required) looked at who might replace the veteran forward this season as the third-line left wing. The problem for Boston is that the team is loaded with a number of right-shot options in Zachary Senyshyn, Karson Kuhlman or Brett Ritchie. However, general manager Don Sweeney suggested it might be best to take the third-line right wing, Danton Heinen, and move him to the left side as he possesses more versatility than the others, which could allow one of the others to move in on the right side. “I think Heinen, depending on what side you play him on,” said Sweeney when asked who could replace Johansson. “Whether it’s Karson or Senyshyn or Brett Ritchie, guys that are right shots, we could play lefty-righty and move Danton over. I think he fits into the same mold of player creative-wise.”
  • The Athletic’s Marc Dumont (subscription required) analyzes the video of the Montreal Canadiens newly signed blueliner Ben Chiarot and looks at where he might fit in their lineup. Chiarot, who told reporters that he has discussed with the coaching staff about playing on the second pairing alongside Jeff Petry. However, Dumont suggests that would be a mistake as Chiarot struggles with retrieving pucks in a timely manner, which would not work well with Petry and suggests that Brett Kulak should continue in that role like he did last season. It might be best to play him on the Canadiens’ third pairing, but that seems a waste considering his $3.5MM price tag.

 

New York Rangers Involved In Multiple Trade Discussions

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“This may mean we lose some familiar faces, guys we all care about and respect.”

That’s what the New York Rangers front office stated in a letter dated February 8, 2018 as they began their deconstruction of a roster that had brought such immense regular season success. That day they waived Brendan Smith less than a year after signing him to a four-year extension, and two weeks later started the process of selling off all the aging or expiring assets. First out the door was Nick Holden, then Michael Grabner and Rick Nash. That could have been a shocking trade deadline it its own right, but GM Jeff Gorton had an even bigger deal up his sleeve, sending captain Ryan McDonagh and power forward J.T. Miller to the Tampa Bay Lightning. A year later Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes were shipped off as well.

Now, even after starting to turn the corner from tear down to rebuild with acquisitions like Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba, the Rangers still might have a few items for sale. Frank Seravalli of TSN reports that the Rangers are “involved in multiple discussions to improve their club” at the moment, and lists Chris Kreider, Jimmy Vesey, Vladislav Namestnikov, Kevin Shattenkirk and Pavel Buchnevich as potential trade options. Indeed Vesey even rose to the eighth spot on his Trade Bait board, noting that the Rangers have “a lot on the go.”

That TSN report comes at nearly the same time as Larry Brooks’ latest column for the New York Post, which suggests that this is likely the end for Kreider in New York. Brooks reports that the Rangers and Kreider’s agent Matt Keator of Olympic Sports Management haven’t yet held a “substantive conversation” about what a contract extension would look like. The 28-year old forward has just one year remaining on his current deal, and would likely fetch the biggest return out of the group listed above.

The questions will now become what the Rangers are after. Do they move Kreider for more draft picks and continue to collect young talent, or do they try and bring in more established players like Trouba to start the turnaround right away. With just two players on the entire roster signed for more than two years—Mika Zibanejad and Brady Skjei—the team has more flexibility than almost any in the league. Free agency will be a tempting pool to jump into this season, especially with the expected interest of Artemi Panarin and others in playing for a New York-area team.

First though the team must navigate the next few days and decide whether or not they will be losing some more familiar faces—even ones that they care about and respect.

East Notes: Kreider, Boedker, Harpur, Viveiros

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The Rangers have had brief discussions regarding a possible contract extension for Chris Kreider, GM Jeff Gorton told reporters, including Larry Brooks of the New York Post.  The winger has been fairly consistent offensively over the past three seasons, averaging between 0.64 and 0.71 points per game in that span.  That type of consistency is hard to find among power forwards which will put him on track for a sizable raise on his current $4.625MM AAV; Brooks suggests Kreider’s next contract will check in at $6.5MM per year or more.  If that’s a price tag that New York doesn’t want to pay, it’s possible that his name will come up in trade discussions in the coming days.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Senators are hoping to trade winger Mikkel Boedker, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, who notes that there is mild interest from some teams. The 29-year-old picked up 35 points in 71 games in his first season with Ottawa but as a team that’s clearly in the middle of a rebuild, he’s someone that’s not going to be in their long-term plans so if the opportunity arises to move him for younger assets, it’s one that GM Pierre Dorion will likely look to make.  Boedker carries a $4MM cap hit through 2019-20 but his salary checks in lower at $3MM.  Garrioch adds that defenseman Ben Harpur could be a trade candidate in the coming days with his spot on the roster potentially looking tenuous for next season.
  • Still with the Senators, former Oilers assistant coach Manny Viveiros is in the running for a spot on Ottawa’s coaching staff, notes Postmedia’s Jim Matheson. 2018-19 was his first season in the NHL after previous stints with Swift Current (WHL), Germany, and Austria.

USA Hockey Announces 2019 IIHF World Championship Preliminary Roster

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The IIHF World Championship gets underway in just a few weeks and USA Hockey has announced the first group of players that will be suiting up for them. GM Chris Drury released 17 names that will be taking part, including captain Patrick Kane. The group is an impressive list of NHL stars that could very well bring home the country’s first gold medal at the tournament in nearly 60 years. The roster so far is as follows:

G Thatcher Demko
G Cayden Primeau
G Cory Schneider

D Quinn Hughes
D Alec Martinez
D Brady Skjei
D Ryan Suter

F Alex DeBrincat
F Jack Eichel
F Luke Glendening
F Patrick Kane
F Clayton Keller
F Chris Kreider
F Dylan Larkin
F James van Riemsdyk
F Frank Vatrano
F Colin White

Rangers Notes: Free Agency, Kravtsov, Fast, Lundqvist, Kreider

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The New York Rangers wrapped up their regular season Saturday and began cleaning out their lockers, but after a season in which the team finished in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division with a 32-36-14 season, general manager Jeff Gorton admitted that while he likes what he sees in terms of the team developing under head coach David Quinn, he expects to see changes.

NHL.com’s Dan Rosen reports that Gorton said the Rangers will likely look to add through free agency this summer to speed up their rebuilding project that the team started last season in February when they decided to make changes to the team.

“There’s a lot of things that can happen this summer to speed that up,” Gorton said. “I think we will try to do everything we can to advance it.”

One obvious possibility would be for the Rangers to try to persuade free agent Artemi Panarin to come to New York. The star winger has been rumored to be interested in signing a free-agent contract with either the Rangers or Florida Panthers, although the Panthers likelihood of bringing Panarin to Florida may have improved if they can sign his former head coach Joel Quenneville to a contract. Regardless, the Rangers could be in play for a number of intriguing free agents, including center Matt Duchene.

  • In the same press conference, Gorton added that the Rangers are doing everything possible to get their two top prospects signed, including 2018 first-rounder Vitali Kravtsov and goaltender Igor Shestyorkin. Kravtsov played 50 games in the KHL, posting eight goals as an 18-year-old, but the team must wait until his contract expires at the end of the month. Shestorkin has dominated the KHL for a number of years now, putting up an unreal 1.11 GAA and a .953 save percentage.
  • The Rangers also announced that forward Jesper Fast undewent thumb surgery and is expected to be ready to train in six weeks. Fast had surgery last Monday to repair torn ligaments and a fracture in his left thumb. The injury, which Fast sustained near the all-star break, didn’t heal properly, which then required surgery. The 27-year-old had eight goals and 20 points in 66 games.
  • Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist also spoke about his disappointing season, according to Rosen. The veteran goaltender had a strong first half, but struggled mightily after that. He played in 35 games before the all-star break, winning 15 games, a 3.o1 GAA and a .908 save percentage, but that number dropped to just 17 appearances after the all-star break where he had just three victories with a 3.18 GAA and a .904 save percentage. Lundqvist said he felt really good when he was hoping the Rangers would surprise people, but admitted it was tougher when he knew they weren’t.
  • The Rangers announced that forward Chris Kreider will play for Team USA at the World Championships this summer. Rosen reports that Kreider hopes that he and the Rangers can iron out a long-term extension this summer as he is eligible to sign an extension on July 1 as he will be in the last year of his contract. Gorton also had a comment on the situation, “Chris is a goal scorer and they’re hard to find. We’ll figure out what’s the appropriate way to go here in the coming weeks.”

Jesper Fast To Miss Rest Of Season

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The New York Rangers won’t be making it to the playoffs this season, so there won’t be enough time for Jesper Fast to return from injury. Head coach David Quinn told reporters today that Fast will miss the rest of the year, while Marc Staal and Chris Kreider will miss tonight’s game as well.

Fast, 27, will end this season with just 20 points in 66 games, a disappointing year for a player who had reached new highs in 2017-18. The two-way forward is still an effective option for the Rangers, but hasn’t shown much upside and will be an interesting player to watch this summer. Heading into the final season of his current contract and carrying a $1.85MM cap hit, he could be another player on the move as the Rangers continue their rebuild. That said, he has long been regarded as one of the hardest working players on the team and is routinely praised by teammates and the coaching staff, even winning New York’s “Players’ Player” award for the last four years.

With so much turnover on the roster of late, perhaps the team will want to keep Fast around on another multi-year contract to help guide the young core. With offensive players coming through the pipeline, his defense and versatility can still be quite useful.

Meanwhile, the Rangers have gone on a 2-5-3 run over their last ten games and are now sitting in 27th place in the NHL. It seems unlikely they’ll fall any lower than that and improve their draft lottery chances, but any success could see them skyrocket up the standings. They take on the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight.

Eastern Notes: Buchnevich, Kreider, Johansson, Krug, Tavares

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No one really knows what the plans are of general manager Jeff Gorton and the New York Rangers. The team could continue quietly rebuilding this summer or accelerate that process and bring in a big-name free-agent or two. Regardless, many of the team’s decisions will depend on what their overall plans are.

That will certainly be the case in how the Rangers intend to deal restricted free agent Pavel Buchnevich. While the 23-year-old hasn’t been as impressive this season as last point-wise, Buchnevich has scored a career-high 18 goals and with his entry-level contract ending, is in line for a significant raise. With quality restricted free agents getting more and more money on their next contracts, Buchnevich could be an interesting case.

The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman (subscription required) writes that much will have to do with the Rangers’ plans. If the team intends to make a significant splash in free agency, going after an Artemi Panarin-type of player, the team might be better served locking him up to a long-term extension to keep his salary down. However, if the team intends to quietly go one more year into its rebuild, then the team would have ample cap room to sign him to a shorter-term contract until they know what they have in him.

  • The Rangers announced that forward Chris Kreider will be out Monday and remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He has been out since  Tuesday. Kreider has been a key asset to the team’s offense as he has 26 goals this season.
  • The Boston Bruins received some good news as the Boston Globe’s Matt Porter reports that Marcus Johansson, who has been out of the lineup since Mar. 5 with a lung contusion after colliding with Carolina’s Micheal Ferland, is back on the ice. He is in a gold non-contact sweater, suggesting that he hasn’t been cleared for contact. The 28-year-old was acquired by the Bruins in a trade deadline acquisition, but has appeared in just four games for Boston, registering only an assist. Porter also notes that Torey Krug is also wearing a non-contact jersey at practice today. Krug has been out since Mar. 12 with a concussion.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs caught a break after John Tavares took a tough cross-check from the New York Rangers’ Marc Staal, as the star center was at practice today, according to TSN’s Kristen Shilton. The Maple Leafs have lost five of their last seven after falling in overtime to the struggling Rangers.

Decision Looming For New York Rangers

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It’s not very often that a team decides to dismantle their team quite as thoroughly and openly as the New York Rangers have over the past year. Starting with a letter to their fans in early February 2018, the Rangers’ front office explained that they did not believe the roster as then constructed was going to bring any realistic success or a chance at a Stanley Cup. Just a few weeks later the team began selling off their biggest assets, dealing Nick Holden, Michael Grabner, Rick Nash, Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller in the span of just a few days. After that kind of a deadline, it was obvious that the Rangers wouldn’t stop there.

This season’s deadline brought much of the same, as New York jettisoned Mats Zuccarello, Kevin Hayes and Adam McQuaid for almost entirely future assets. One name that was brought up repeatedly but never moved however was power forward Chris Kreider. Kreider represents the last member of the former core with an expiring contract, as his deal is up following the 2019-20 season, and now sits as the biggest decision the team must make this summer. The talented winger will turn 28 in April, and could be an extension candidate if the team believes he can help them get back to the playoffs with their rebuilt lineup. He could also be their biggest trade chip at the draft if they want to take another step backwards to build the prospect cupboard up. In fact, Larry Brooks of the New York Post writes that there is “not even the slightest chance” that Kreider will report to Rangers training camp in the fall without an extension, implying he would be traded without one.

That decision will come after a potentially career-best season from Kreider, even if it has come with some ups and downs. The 6’3″ forward is just two goals and four points from his previous highs, both set in 2016-17 on a team that finished with 102 points and made it to the second round. There would certainly be a lot of teams lining up for his services if available, given his 30-goal potential and all-around effectiveness. Hayes, for instance (who admittedly is a center) has never scored 50 points in a season but landed the Rangers a good young player and first-round pick even as a pure rental. The fact that they potentially could get more than that for Kreider with a bigger market may be too much to pass up.

But at some point, the team will have to decide if they’re ready to compete again. A multi-year extension for Kreider, expensive as it may be, may help the team do just that in the next few years when young players like Brett Howden, Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil are still on their entry-level deals. There’s plenty of talent in the system now for New York, and it may be time to start retaining it instead of cashing it in.

For now, Kreider and the team will focus on finishing out the season strong and without injury—something the forward has battled for much of the season, according to Brooks—while developing their young players at the highest level. But come this summer there will be a point where GM Jeff Gorton and his staff will have to decide when the next phase of the plan is scheduled for, and if Kreider is a part of it.

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