The Rangers’ looming offseason Chris Kreider question has been answered, and it seems a rather equitable resolution for both sides.
The Blueshirts inked their 25-year-old speedster to a four-year, $18.5 million deal on Friday, carrying an annual salary-cap hit of $4.625 million. Once again, they reached the deal just moments before entering an arbitration hearing for the restricted free agent. Friday’s hearing was set for 9 a.m. in Toronto. Kreider just completed a two-year deal that carried a $2.475 million hit, which was sealed just an hour before his scheduled hearing in the summer of 2014.
The Rangers bought up two years of unrestricted free agency for the 6-foot-3, 226-pound winger. And they did it without having to go in front of a neutral arbitrator and tear down Kreider for the sake of monetary savings.
In the briefings submitted Wednesday, Kreider’s camp asked for $4.75 million and the Rangers asked for $3.2 million on what would have been a one-year deal. But with the longer term, the price had to go up — and the Rangers and Kreider found a way to make it work.
Kreider had his second straight 21-goal season with the Rangers last season, and got to that statistical mark only by a late flourish. He admitted it was a disappointing campaign, which ended when the Rangers lost in a five-game first-round series to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Penguins.
Yet there is no questioning Kreider has the talent, speed and physicality to become an elite power forward. He was one of six NHL players this past season who registered at least 20 goals, 40 points, a plus-10 rating and 50 penalty minutes, joining Alex Ovechkin, Jonathan Toews, Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand and James Neal.
The only thing missing for Kreider over the years has been the nightly consistency for the sometimes overly cerebral kid from Boxford, Massachusetts.
Kreider burst onto the scene after winning a national championship with Boston College to join John Tortorella’s Rangers on their 2012 playoff run. Back then, the Blueshirts’ first-round pick (No. 19 overall) from the 2009 draft scored five goals in 18 postseason games, and was a wonder of speed and skill. In the time since, Kreider has amassed 61 goals and 129 points in 248 regular-season games, while adding 20 goals and 33 points in 65 career postseason games.
In what was supposed to be an offseason overhaul for general manager Jeff Gorton, the Rangers still look quite similar to how they did in years past. Earlier this week, Gorton made his biggest move in trading 28-year-old Derick Brassard to the Senators in a deal that brought back 23-year-old center Mika Zibanejad. But Gorton made it pretty clear that a major renovation of the roster was more difficult than some expected.
“I know there is a lot of perception that you have to overhaul the team and do all these things,” Gorton had said, “but I’m not sure how realistic that is.”
Kreider returns to a team that now has just under $7 million in remaining cap space, with restricted free agent forward Kevin Hayes still on course for an arbitration hearing on July 27. It is possible Hayes and the Rangers will accept the one-year deal set forth by the arbitrator, and he’ll return with a lot to prove.
Which is also true of Kreider. Now that the next four years are locked up, he can at least temporarily forget about being an obvious trade chip. The contract should not be overly burdensome, and the Rangers are hoping that in the next couple years it proves to be a bargain.
