Kreider agrees to terms on seven-year contract with Rangers

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Chris Kreider agreed to terms on a seven-year contract worth $6.5 million annually with the New York Rangers on Monday.

Rangers president John Davidson said a deal with the 28-year-old forward was finalized Monday morning. Kreider is in the last season of a four-year contract and could have become an unrestricted free agent July 1.
"When you do the pluses and minuses, the pluses certainly outweigh any of the minuses," Davidson said. "We're excited about Chris. He plays well with [center] Mika [Zibanejad]. It's a speed game. He's got power. He's been healthy his whole career. There's a lot of good things to think about."
Kreider, who did not practice Monday because of an illness, has 45 points (24 goals, 21 assists) in 60 games this season, including 32 points (18 goals, 14 assists) in 32 games since Dec. 8.
The Rangers (33-24-4) are six points behind the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. They have won three games in a row and seven of eight.
"He's a unique player, very hard to replace," Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist said of Kreider. "I think it's definitely the right decision to lock him up. He's been having a great year. I think he's developing to be an even better player now, more consistent and the type of leader that you need in the locker room. It's definitely good news for everyone."
Davidson credited Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton and Kreider's agent, Matt Keator, for staying in constant dialogue over a period of several weeks.
"Everything had to fit, though," Davidson said. "If it didn't make sense to us, we would have had to move in a different direction."
That would have been to trade Kreider, which Gorton said the Rangers were prepared to do before the 2020 NHL Trade Deadline on Monday if they couldn't come to an agreement. Gorton said he's thrilled it never came to that.
"Look at what he's doing, his emergence, and we feel like he's still getting better," Gorton said. "His size, his skating, his scoring ability, the combination he has with Mika, his power play ability. When you add it all up, it's a player that we've had in the organization for a long time we've watched the strides he's been making. When you weigh all the options, and having him leave versus keeping him, it became more evident that we want to keep him."

Gorton said figuring out Kreider's situation was New York's No. 1 priority prior to the trade deadline. It appears to have had a domino effect too; hours after announcing they agreed to terms with the forward, the Rangers traded defenseman Brady Skjei to the Hurricanes for a first-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.
Gorton said the Rangers felt they could trade Skjei because of their organizational depth at defenseman and additional NHL salary cap flexibility, necessary after signing Kreider. It was also an opportunity to get a second first-round pick in the upcoming draft.
"I will say trading Brady Skjei is difficult," Gorton said. "He's a special guy. He's a really good person. He's a good player. He's been a good Ranger. We wish him nothing but the best. It's just a move that we felt we had to make."
The same goes with re-signing Kreider because in addition to what he does on the ice, Davidson said the Rangers value his impact on their young players, including 24-year-old forward Pavel Buchnevich, who when healthy plays on a line with Zibanejad and Kreider.
"Even when you go to the summers, when [Chris] trains, he's I wouldn't say a freak of nature, but he's a very well-conditioned individual, a terrific athlete in that sense," Davidson said. "And we're young and getting younger, and you need people that can lead the way with those particular things in mind. Today in our league, it's not just showing up in training camp and training all winter as you try to play wherever you are; it's about 11 and a half months per year, and Chris is very good at that. That's part of it for sure."
Several Rangers said re-signing Kreider gives an added boost of energy to a team that has played its way into the playoff race in the past few weeks.
"I think it gives us a little bit of wings behind the back that Chris believes in this team," goalie Alexandar Georgiev said. "He's a huge part of it. Everybody loves him. Everybody is super excited. He's big every game for us."
The Rangers also opted against trading pending unrestricted free agent forward Jesper Fast, who has 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) and a plus-17 rating in 60 games this season.
"A player like him is pretty well valued in the League," Gorton said. "We thought about a little bit of everything with Jesper, but at the end of the day keeping him was something we felt was important for our organization."