Player Discussion Chris Kreider

[Anthony5967]

But Kreider wasn't a #1 overall pick.

So what? The guy is 20. How many guys don't figure it out until they are into their mid 20s? It isn't ideal, but Lafreniere's situation is unique. Blocked on the depth chart by two studs and playing with Chytil and G most of the year. Zibanejad was a 1,20,33,46,51,37,47 player until he went off for 74 at 25 years old. I hope Laf gets going before then but people need to chill out man.

 

[Mike in Houston]

Chris was on the Michael Kay show yesterday.

The Michael Kay Show - Chris Kreider: 1/25/22 | ESPN

 

[Chimpradamus]

Can I say I have to give Gallant credit for convincing Kreider this crease player role is how he will become successful? A new, experienced coach telling Kreider: "Look, you have an eye for the game, you're big, strong, fast, tough to contain from your strength, but... your passing isn't that great, your shot isn't that great either and your skills beating goalies on breakaways aren't that awesome either, you can't beat guys 1 on 1, but what do you have? You're big, you know how to use your skates, you know how to deflect pucks and you can read plays. So why don't you think of yourself as a bigger, more skilled version of Holmström?"

And here we are. Kreider is the best crease player I've seen in a long time. He's great at screening goalies, he's not slow to get there because he can skate and support a backcheck or puck retrieval, he can play physical, he's a big pile of meat to move, he can deflect, he knows how to place his stick, he can swap in rebounds, he knows how to beat a sprawling goalie.

I love it. So, can I say Gallant turned Kreider's contract from questionable into a steal? Is it allowed to be that positive? If a guy can jump out of a pool, he can be a good net presence guy. Especially with good hands, not just good enough to be an effective perimeter player. And NYR has loads of those.

Kreider's role switch has created a potential star player from being a core player not bringing enough. Panarin has jokingly said "Kreider doesn't know what to do when he's not around the crease." and by the standards of Panarin, I think he's right, even if he's joking. It's when Kreider greets the goalie and tells him this shift will be hell that Kreider is in his element.

 

[eco's bones]

All year Fox has seemed to be able to get the puck to Chris for tips or to isolate him away from net front coverage on the power play. There’s a lot of man advantage chemistry between those two this year.

 

[PANARIN BREAD FAN]

say i got an idea!!! let's put kreider on the 3rd line.

in colorado how about rantanen or landeskog on their 3rd line?

ovi?

marchand?

forsberg?

 

[OrangePMD]

Everyone knows that Kreider is pretty good at scoring tip-in goals. I went to see how many he has this season already, and it's 13, which is a new NHL single season record. He has also overtaken Hornqvist as the all-time leader with 61 vs. 55.

 

[SchneidersPretzels]

Best I can remember as far back as Sean Avery.... Remember him? They literally had to change the rulebook because that guy was so good at playing in the crease

 

[ecemleafs]

boomer and hradek going with the over for kreider at 50 goals this year on nhl net today.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Not bad company to be in

 

[Rangeri]

So, can I say Gallant turned Kreider's contract from questionable into a steal?

Well we need to see a bit more longevity of this contract, but I don't doubt it. Its not the first time player just some point got "it" when the trajectory should be down. Maybe Marchand is not comparable, they are very different kind of players. But he comes to mind, when we talk about aging like a fine wine type of scenarios.

You can visibly see Kreider enjoys hockey. He just seem to know what to do to be efficient and is embracing it fully. And pretty sure katalyst to that change is Gallant. Thanks for that!

Start is excellent
Lets hope good ending as well!

 

[JohnC]

I really want him to break Jagr's goal record this year

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I really want him to break Jagr's goal record this year

Updated numbers:

 

[Leonardo87]

It's amazing with Kreider this season, he is not just scoring goals, but making great plays like that play on Laf's goal, and is killing penalties. He has become a great all around player. Reading the back of this thread and some people wanted him gone and not to re-sign. I am not going to throw it in people's faces, just glad he proved them wrong, and I'm sure they are happy to be proven wrong also.

 

[will1066]

Can I say I have to give Gallant credit for convincing Kreider this crease player role is how he will become successful? A new, experienced coach telling Kreider: "Look, you have an eye for the game, you're big, strong, fast, tough to contain from your strength, but... your passing isn't that great, your shot isn't that great either and your skills beating goalies on breakaways aren't that awesome either, you can't beat guys 1 on 1, but what do you have? You're big, you know how to use your skates, you know how to deflect pucks and you can read plays. So why don't you think of yourself as a bigger, more skilled version of Holmström?"

And here we are. Kreider is the best crease player I've seen in a long time. He's great at screening goalies, he's not slow to get there because he can skate and support a backcheck or puck retrieval, he can play physical, he's a big pile of meat to move, he can deflect, he knows how to place his stick, he can swap in rebounds, he knows how to beat a sprawling goalie.

I love it. So, can I say Gallant turned Kreider's contract from questionable into a steal? Is it allowed to be that positive? If a guy can jump out of a pool, he can be a good net presence guy. Especially with good hands, not just good enough to be an effective perimeter player. And NYR has loads of those.

Kreider's role switch has created a potential star player from being a core player not bringing enough. Panarin has jokingly said "Kreider doesn't know what to do when he's not around the crease." and by the standards of Panarin, I think he's right, even if he's joking. It's when Kreider greets the goalie and tells him this shift will be hell that Kreider is in his element.

The post was already winning, but that line clinched it for me.

 

[Rangers in 7]

It's amazing with Kreider this season, he is not just scoring goals, but making great plays like that play on Laf's goal, and is killing penalties. He has become a great all around player. Reading the back of this thread and some people wanted him gone and not to re-sign. I am not going to throw it in people's faces, just glad he proved them wrong, and I'm sure they are happy to be proven wrong also.

Tbf I was one of the people that wanted to trade him for a ton of assets. I never wanted to let him walk for nothing. I mean for the right group of assets I’d still consider it. He’s not getting younger.
With that all said he’s been dynamite this season

 

[will1066]

Tbf I was one of the people that wanted to trade him for a ton of assets. I never wanted to let him walk for nothing. I mean for the right group of assets I’d still consider it. He’s not getting younger.
With that all said he’s been dynamite this season

I wish he had evolved into this version of Chris a couple of years sooner, but he's got plenty of miles left in the tank. Always been physically gifted, potentially giving him a few extra years than normal, plus now his game of mostly hovering around the front of the net means he can conserve his sprints, which might mean less wear and tear.

 

[NYRangers0723]

It's amazing with Kreider this season, he is not just scoring goals, but making great plays like that play on Laf's goal, and is killing penalties. He has become a great all around player. Reading the back of this thread and some people wanted him gone and not to re-sign. I am not going to throw it in people's faces, just glad he proved them wrong, and I'm sure they are happy to be proven wrong also.

. My biggest issue are those who accused him of mailing it in a times which is such nonsense. He was simply streaky like 95%of all nhl players. I do think giving him more responsibility on the pp and defensively and helping his game evolve

 

[GAGLine]

I wish he had evolved into this version of Chris a couple of years sooner, but he's got plenty of miles left in the tank. Always been physically gifted, potentially giving him a few extra years than normal, plus now his game of mostly hovering around the front of the net means he can conserve his sprints, which might mean less wear and tear.

If he had, he'd be making more than 6.5 mil now.

 

[Chimpradamus]

I wish he had evolved into this version of Chris a couple of years sooner, but he's got plenty of miles left in the tank. Always been physically gifted, potentially giving him a few extra years than normal, plus now his game of mostly hovering around the front of the net means he can conserve his sprints, which might mean less wear and tear.

This would've happened sooner with a competent coach that could analyze, see and convince Kreider to become the crease player, not the flashy player. All former coaches drowned in his size and speed and the occasional breakaway goal with the same move, deking to splash it in along the ice on the far post. Kreider wanted to see himself as a flashy player that he will never be. That's fine if you can still dominate, you don't have to be flashy to dominate, right? That's what Gallant convinced Kreider of. And look at the results.

Kreider's built like a fast tank and sure, his skating strength is a part of his game, he can always sprint to support another conflict around puck possession. But, in the role he now has, he can be very successful for very long even without his skating speed. He just needs to be physical (no problem), average at skating (no problem for Kreider's curve even when getting old) and continue being a pest at the crease. Disregarding injuries, I think Kreider will have a very happy NHL career from now on. His goal scoring isn't lucky at all, he has just refined his game towards what he's really good at and doesn't try to pretend to be something else.

Kreider has found his sublime role in a hockey game. Finally. The crease is his office. This is where Kreider's career starts to become an absolute steal for the NYR. Sure, he won't pour in goals at this pace - we assume - but he will still screen goalie and create defensive problems for the opposition. And then he slams in a home dunk from Fox, Panarin or Zibanejad. No problem. Or another deflection. He can read plays really well.

Can I say I have went being highly suspicious of "the rushing Kreider" into loving "the crease is my office" Kreider in a heartbeat. People say this is his anomaly season, where someone like Chechoo could score 54 goals or so. They're wrong. They're just seeing Kreider as a Holmström player at his rookie season. I have high hopes for Kreider now.

 

[haohmaru]

It's stuff like this that makes me think this should be the next captain of the New York Rangers. Keep in mind he could've had a hat trick and Panarin would've tried to get that for him.

 

[JohnC]

It's stuff like this that makes me think this should be the next captain of the New York Rangers. Keep in mind he could've had a hat trick and Panarin would've tried to get that for him.

It’s almost hilarious the way he peeled away from the play. Just noped out on a 2-on-0 against an empty net.

 

[LokiDog]

In past seasons I was very critical of Kreids because he seemed like a guy who just couldn’t bring a really consistent EFFORT over 82 games and it maddened me because, while not some all world talent, he definitely had like a 35/30 potential. When it was extension time I was pretty vocally against re-signing him because I just thought big guy who is at his best when he’s in the trenches and relies on his speed isn’t gonna age well and he never broke that 50ish point plateau to become the guy he could be.

Obviously, I am prepared for this season to be somewhat of an outlier for him, but I also am happy to munch some crow and redact a lot of previous criticisms of Chris. If nothing else, he has been a competent professional who has consistently worked on his game and found ways to adapt to be more effective. When he broke into the league (playoffs against Washington come to mind) I pictured him as doing a lot of what Gauthier does (beat you wide - I’m super concerned right now that autocorrect wanted to change that to “beat your wife” - with speed, take it to the net) but a million times better because he’d finish. Learning to be THE net front guy in the league and a leader and a humble team player and a penalty killer… for the first time in his tenure as a Ranger, I would indeed give him the C.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Is he the best Rangers non-goalie draft pick in decades? I think Buch is his only comparable because he's become a PPG player much younger.

 

[Pawnee Rangers]

Is he the best Rangers non-goalie draft pick in decades? I think Buch is his only comparable because he's become a PPG player much younger.

Yes

 

[SA16]

This would've happened sooner with a competent coach that could analyze, see and convince Kreider to become the crease player, not the flashy player. All former coaches drowned in his size and speed and the occasional breakaway goal with the same move, deking to splash it in along the ice on the far post. Kreider wanted to see himself as a flashy player that he will never be. That's fine if you can still dominate, you don't have to be flashy to dominate, right? That's what Gallant convinced Kreider of. And look at the results.

Kreider's built like a fast tank and sure, his skating strength is a part of his game, he can always sprint to support another conflict around puck possession. But, in the role he now has, he can be very successful for very long even without his skating speed. He just needs to be physical (no problem), average at skating (no problem for Kreider's curve even when getting old) and continue being a pest at the crease. Disregarding injuries, I think Kreider will have a very happy NHL career from now on. His goal scoring isn't lucky at all, he has just refined his game towards what he's really good at and doesn't try to pretend to be something else.

Kreider has found his sublime role in a hockey game. Finally. The crease is his office. This is where Kreider's career starts to become an absolute steal for the NYR. Sure, he won't pour in goals at this pace - we assume - but he will still screen goalie and create defensive problems for the opposition. And then he slams in a home dunk from Fox, Panarin or Zibanejad. No problem. Or another deflection. He can read plays really well.

Can I say I have went being highly suspicious of "the rushing Kreider" into loving "the crease is my office" Kreider in a heartbeat. People say this is his anomaly season, where someone like Chechoo could score 54 goals or so. They're wrong. They're just seeing Kreider as a Holmström player at his rookie season. I have high hopes for Kreider now.

His pts/60 at 5v5 this year is 7th best of his 11 seasons. It's not the coaching. It's just that he's scoring like crazy in front of the net at PP. A role every coach has played him in.