When the 2024-25 season officially gets underway, Chris Kreider will be entering his 13th season with the New York Rangers. He is by far and away the longest-tenured player on the team today and he has been through it all throughout his career. He started by coming in during the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He has been on teams that went to the Stanley Cup Final, teams that have gone through a rebuild and now, he is on a team looking to bring a championship back to New York for the first time in 31 years.
Even though he has been one of the more consistent players for the Rangers over the past few seasons, it was not always like that earlier in his career. He dealt with injuries and inconsistencies that prevented him from reaching his full potential. Now, at age 33, he is one of the top goal scorers on the team and in the entire NHL and will be looking to continue the trend of having his best seasons the older he gets.
Early Career Struggles
When Kreider’s career was first starting, many saw him as a great power forward who also had the potential to score at least 30 goals a season if not more. While he showed glimpses of it throughout the first few seasons of his career, he could never put all the tools together and became a very inconsistent player. He would go through long stretches of not scoring or providing any offense and many became frustrated with him. It looked like he could never turn into the player that many thought he could be for the Rangers.
Prior to the 2021-22 season, Kreider had never scored more than 28 goals or had more than 53 points in a season. This was due to inconsistent play and injuries, but it seemed like this was the ceiling for him as a player; someone who could skate and play the body and also score 25 goals a season. It was okay, but it was disappointing to see a player who had so much potential not become what you thought he could be given all the assets he had. However, what came next in his career was very unexpected.
2021-22 Season: Kreider’s Best Season of His Career
At age 30, Kreider had the best season of his career and it really came out of nowhere and nobody ever expected him to be this type of player. He played in 81 games that season, scoring 52 goals and 77 points. After not having more than 28 goals in a season, he exploded and became one of the top goal-scorers in the entire NHL. He finished third in the league in goals scored, ahead of even a player like Alex Ovechkin. He also set the franchise record for power-play goals in a season with 26, which also was good for first in the entire league. It was incredible to see and while many thought it was a one-hit wonder type of season, Kreider would continue to keep up his great production.
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While he wouldn’t score 52 goals again, he did score 36 and 39 goals in each of the following two seasons. Between the 2021-22 season and the 2023-24 season, Kreider has scored the seventh most goals in the entire league with 127 ahead of players like Nathan MacKinnon and Steven Stamkos. He has the third most power-play goals over that span with 52 behind only Sam Reinhart and Connor McDavid. He has remained one of the top scoring threats in the league and his late career resurgence has been amazing to watch.
Best Playoff Performer in Franchise History
Aside from Henrik Lundqvist, an argument can be made that Kreider is the best playoff performer in Rangers franchise history. While he might not have a Stanley Cup to his name, he has consistently come through in the playoffs and he has the accolades to show for it. He has the most playoff goals in franchise history with 48 and since the 2021-22 season, he has the most playoff goals among his teammates with 24, ten more than Mika Zibanejad’s 14. He also is tied with Mark Messier for most goals scored in the playoffs during elimination games with 16. He has proven time and again that he can step up when the games matter the most.
If Kreider can continue playing at this level for the final three years of his current contract, he will be among the all-time greats in Rangers history. He is 99 goals away from having the most in franchise history. He is seven power-play goals away from being the leader in that category. And if the Rangers can make it back to the playoffs and have a long run once again, he is 14 points away from having the most playoff points in franchise history. Kreider is becoming a Rangers legend in front of our eyes and watching him play his best hockey so late into his career has been fascinating to watch.
