The Curious Case of Chris Kreider

Typically, This Type of Drama Receives An Academy Award.

When the dust settles on the New York Rangers 2024–25 campaign, Chris Kreider’s numbers will tell a story in which no one expected.

In 67 games, the usually reliable power forward mustered only 21 goals and 7 assists, for 28 points – his lowest full-season point total since 2012-2013.

This, from Kreider, who not too long ago potted 52 goals in a season and was a fixture atop the Rangers’ scoring charts. In the span of a year, Kreider went from a consistent 50-70 point producer to barely cracking 25.

The advanced metrics paint an even bleaker picture of Kreider’s on-ice impact.

According to Natural Stat Trick data, the Rangers were routinely hemmed in when he was on the ice at 5-on-5. With Kreider skating, the Rangers, controlled just 45.2% of shot attempts, 43.5% of expected goals, and 40.4% of high-danger scoring chances.

In other words, the ice was tilted against the Rangers during his shifts.

The Rangers were even outscored 13-9 with him at five-on-five, and tellingly, only 2 of Kreider’s 21 goals came at even strength. For a player long known as a play-driving, net-front beast, the numbers were jarring. It’s as if the air completely hissed out of Chris Kreider’s game, and everyone wanted to know why.

Open for Business: On the Trading Block

One turning point came earlier this season, when Rangers GM Chris Drury effectively hung a “For Sale,” sign on two of his players.

In a bold (some say ill-advised) move, Drury circulated a league-wide memo on Nov. 24 informing teams that captain Jacob Trouba and Chris Kreider were available.

Naturally, the news hit the locker room like a grenade.

It’s not often you see a GM openly shopping a three-time 30-goal scorer, and one of the franchise’s longest-serving players mid-season. According to subsequent reports, several Rangers were upset that Kreider – a respected locker room leader – was in all ways dangled as trade bait with no warning.

Imagine the awkwardness: Kreider walking into the rink knowing his GM basically sent out a mass email saying, “Any takers?”

The public shopping of Kreider coincided with the team’s free-fall in the standings – and perhaps not coincidentally, with Kreider’s own tailspin in production.

Trade chatter swirled in the media and among fans.

Kreider himself tried to downplay it, insinuating, that speculation didn’t affect his play and, recalling that he’s been through trade rumors before (infamously, he was almost dealt in 2020 before signing an extension).

Bad Back or Bad Blood?

Kreider’s health status became a running subplot throughout the season.

In late November, he revealed to New York Post reporter Mollie Walker that he had been dealing with persistent back spasms, saying it had “locked up on me – sacrum.”

Kreider added that it had shifted locations: “Few games back it was lumbar… during training camp it was thoracic…very independent, annoying things.”

That helped explain the inconsistency in his game and maybe even some of the many passive shifts that fans were quick to criticize. The low point — at least symbolically — came on December 23, 2024, in Newark.

In a game against the Devils, Peter Laviolette stunned everyone by making Kreider a healthy scratch. This wasn’t a back spasm situation, nor was it a maintenance day — this was a straight-up benching.

Kreider, the longest-tenured Ranger and a de facto face of the franchise, watched from the press box as his team got steamrolled 5-0 by a rival.

It was the first time all season — and perhaps in his entire prime years — that Kreider had been scratched for performance reasons.

And it was very clearly about performance.

Laviolette, offered a blunt explanation afterward, saying the team wasn’t playing the right “brand” of hockey, while pointedly noting, “He’s a guy that we count on to help deliver that…at the end of the day, we’re not playing a brand that we need to play in order to be successful.”

In coach-speak, that translates to: Kreider isn’t getting it done.

The message was received, and it sparked an uproar. Pundits and fans debated whether scratching Kreider was a justifiable wake-up call or a public humiliation.

One columnist skewered the move as a sign of disrespect, arguing the Rangers “erred significantly by disrespecting Kreider,” and got a deserved 5-0 beatdown as karma.

Others saw it as a last-ditch move from Laviolette, who was running out of answers.

Internally, some wondered if this was the moment Kreider mentally checked out.

After all, how much humiliation can one proud player take in a season?

His name was floated in trade rumors, injuries doubted, and now, he was publicly benched for lack of effort. Then came January 7, 2025 — Kreider was placed on injured reserve again. He returned a week later but never quite looked the same.

In February, he was a late scratch against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

On March 1st, the Rangers placed him back on IR.

According to Mollie Walker, it was not the same back injury from earlier in the season.

“There was no setback,” she reported, “he’s just taking longer to heal than expected.”

Kreider could be activated at any time, and the team once again kept things vague.

The Rangers recalled Brett Berard from Hartford that same day, further signaling that Kreider’s absence wasn’t going to be a quick one.

But the most eyebrow-raising moment came just days later.

After weeks of speculation, the NHL trade deadline came and went — and, Kreider wasn’t moved.

A day later, he was suddenly activated off IR, as if by magic.

Many fans felt like it was all nonsense — claiming Kreider wasn’t actually hurt, but he instead just “quit on the team.”

Others noted that this wasn’t true at all, with one fan replying, “Dave Maloney, who travels with the team, said on the radio call last week that Kreider could barely walk off the plane at Pittsburgh.”

Was it strategic cap management? Load management? Mind games?

Was Chris Kreider badly injured? Nobody can say for sure — but, like everything else this season involving Kreider, it sure was weirdly timed.

An International (and Ironic) Detour

As if this saga needed another twist, February, brought the 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament – a mid-season international showcase.

And guess who suited up for Team USA? That’s right — Chris Kreider.

In Montreal, Kreider joined teammates Mika Zibanejad, Vincent Trocheck, J.T. Miller, Adam Fox, and Urho Vaakanainen, for a little national pride on the side.

The optics were…interesting.

Here was a guy, who supposedly, was being held together with duct tape and muscle relaxants, suddenly donning the red, white, and blue in a glorified exhibition.

Kreider’s 4 Nations stint started humbly – he was actually a healthy scratch for Team USA’s first two games as the coaches juggled a stacked forward group.

But, when Team USA needed bodies, Kreider drew into the lineup – and naturally, made an immediate impact.

In his first appearance, he scored just 35 seconds into the game (on his first shift no less). The veteran winger looked rejuvenated, tallying 3 shots and eating up 17:22 of ice time, a far cry from someone supposedly laboring with a serious injury.

The sight of Kreider celebrating a goal for Team USA, while the New York Rangers were struggling back home wasn’t lost on anyone.

It added a layer of irony to his season.

How injured could he really be, if he’s flying up and down the ice in an international tourney? The New York Post even noted the irony, with one source saying Kreider’s choice to play in the 4 Nations raised eyebrows internally.

Perhaps it was a matter of pride for Kreider – an opportunity to find his game again in a different environment. Or perhaps it was a subtle message, nothing that he was not quitting on hockey, even if things were sour in New York.

Kreider vs. Laviolette: A Quiet War

By late winter, the immense tension between No. 20 and his coach was becoming hard to ignore. The scratch heard ’round the world was one thing, but, there were other signs of a fraying relationship.

A video surfaced from a Rangers practice in February capturing a frosty interaction between Kreider and Peter Laviolette.

In the clip, Laviolette appears to be speaking to Chris Kreider on the ice – and Kreider pointedly avoids looking at him, skating away as Laviolette tries to get his attention. It was an awkward moment that quickly made the rounds on social media.

As one blog put it, “it appears that [Laviolette isn’t respected]… given that No. 20 wouldn’t even look at the coach while he was trying to talk to him.”

Body language can be over-analyzed, sure. Maybe Kreider didn’t hear him, maybe it was out of context. But to many, that clip looked like confirmation of a rift: star player tuning out head coach. Inside the organization, whispers of misalignment grew louder.

Laviolette, an old-school taskmaster, was brought to New York instill a specific brand of hockey. Kreider, a proud veteran, clearly wasn’t buying in, or at least wasn’t able to execute it this year.

The coach publicly challenged his effort; the player quietly bristled.

The healthy scratch incident wasn’t an isolated punishment – it was emblematic of a lack of trust between the two.

Blue Line Station reported “noted tension” between Kreider and both Laviolette and Drury, stemming from the season’s many controversies.

And Blade of Steel bluntly described “great tension with coach Peter Laviolette,” as Kreider struggled through his worst season in years.

Laviolette, for his part, is no stranger to clashing with players. But, few expected one of his first battles in New York would be with Chris Kreider of all people.

Kreider has always been the consummate team-first guy, a lead-by-example worker known for his professionalism.

For things to deteriorate this badly, something fundamental had to be broken in the coach-player dynamic. Speculation ran rampant that Laviolette had “lost the room,” with veterans like Kreider tuning him out. As one Rangers podcaster quipped, “Have the veterans quit on Peter Laviolette?”

It sure looked like Kreider quit on something. But was it the team, or just the coach?

One could hardly blame him for feeling disillusioned.

Consider the roller coaster Kreider endured: A scorching start by the team gave way to a major tailspin. Suddenly the coach is calling him out and the GM’s shopping him around. He’s playing hurt, yet his commitment is questioned.

Meanwhile, pals and respected teammates were being cast off (we’ll get to that in a moment). It’s the perfect recipe for a player to lose faith in the plan. Several sources indicated Kreider grew frustrated with Laviolette’s constant line shuffles and what he saw as the coach’s failure to adjust the system to the roster.

In one telling comment to the media, Kreider hinted, that everyone needed to “pull in the same direction,” a vanilla quote on the surface, but, one that some interpreted as subtle shade at the discord sowed by Laviolette’s approach.

In short, Kreider may have felt that he wasn’t the problem; the coach’s system was.

In the final weeks, as it became clear the Rangers would miss the playoffs, Kreider’s play did perk up a bit (perhaps playing for a ticket out of town or just personal pride).

But the vibe around the team remained off. If anything, Chris Kreider’s plight was a microcosm of a larger issue: a disconnect between the roster, and the coach/GM.

The Man Upstairs

It wasn’t just Peter Laviolette rubbing players wrong. Rangers GM Chris Drury made a series of baffling or brusque roster moves that reportedly alienated key veterans – Kreider included.

To truly understand Kreider’s malaise, one must zoom out to the broader culture clash unfolding in New York. According to insider reports, a “collection of recent decisions,” by Drury caused a rift between the players and the front office.

•The Goodrow Gaffe: In the offseason, Chris Drury waived popular grinder Barclay Goodrow (a Stanley Cup champion and well-liked locker room guy), with three years left on his deal. Goodrow, a glue guy and one of Kreider’s close teammates, felt like it came out of nowhere – he “wasn’t given any sort of warning” and he admitted he was shocked to be suddenly sent packing back to San Jose.

The message to the team was clear, and apparently, it did not sit well.

•The Trouba Trade: Not long after, Drury set his sights upon Jacob Trouba. Trouba had a no-trade clause, but Drury effectively forced his hand, reportedly telling Trouba to accept a trade or be placed on waivers, an unprecedented tough-arm tactic with a team captain. Trouba ultimately waived for a deal to Anaheim, but players were said to be disturbed by how it went down. As one account put it, “it was a threat,” where you either agreed to go or get publicly humiliated.

Trouba was a close friend of Kreider, so imagine his reaction watching him get pushed out the door.

•The Kreider Dangling: We’ve covered this, but to reiterate, one could argue Kreider never looked the same after that late-November memo; the trust was broken.

•The Ramsay Firing: Go back to the summer of 2023 with me, folks, where longtime head athletic trainer Jim Ramsay is fired in a stunning move. “Rammer” had been with the Rangers since 1994 and was absolutely loved by the players. Ramsay was the guy who patched them up, a confidant, practically family. His dismissal infuriated many on the team. According to one source, Kreider, was especially upset by how Ramsay was treated and by the organization’s refusal to acknowledge his contributions on the way out. The incident planted early seeds of distrust, well before the season even began.

As one report bluntly stated, Chris Drury’s roster antics caused “resentment among Rangers” . So while fans saw Kreider’s on-ice struggles, behind the scenes, he was stewing over what he (and others) perceived as disrespect from management.

In that light, Kreider’s lackluster play isn’t so much a mystery as it is a statement. It’s not that he suddenly forgot how to play – it’s that his heart might not have been in it given all the turmoil.

The 67-Game Irony

Amid back injuries, healthy scratches, and reported discontent, one thing remained true: Chris Kreider kept suiting up (mostly) night after night.

For all the talk of serious back woes, he ended up missing only 14 games.

The irony is thick.

If Kreider truly had a debilitating back injury, one might expect him to be shelved for far longer. If he had truly “quit” on the team, one might expect him to tap out and sit.

But he didn’t.

He was out there nearly every game, taking shifts even as the season spiraled.

It raises the question: was the extent of his injury dramatized to save face (for either him or the team)? Or was Kreider simply gutting it out because that’s what he does?

Perhaps a bit of both.

He easily could have cited the back and shut himself down early, instead, he played through the pain – physical and mental – right to the bitter end.

One could argue that in doing so, he showed he hadn’t quit on his teammates.

Even if his relationship with the coach and GM was fractured.

In fact, some around the team have suggested that Kreider’s commitment was more to the logo on the front of the jersey than to the people directing things from behind the bench or above.

Is This Goodbye, or See You Later?

As the Rangers head into the summer, big questions loom.

Will Chris Drury trade Kreider, ending his tenure as a Ranger?

Or will a likely coaching change and a reset summer be enough to bring Kreider back into the fold and back to form? It’s a tough call. Kreider carries a hefty contract and a 15-team no-trade list, but after this drama, both sides might welcome a fresh start.

We’ll have to wait and see, because, as Natasha Bedingfield said, the rest, for both Chris Kreider, and the New York Rangers is still unwritten.