Chris isn't the type to change the culture, but I also don't think there's a player on the Rangers more willing to buy in to whatever the team needs from him--even if it's not really something he's capable of. I remember early in the AV years, it started with dropping him in front of the net and telling him to figure it out there. He did and quickly became one of if not the best forward in front of an opposing goalie in the league. Every offseason for a while there was something new. First the mandate was for Kreider to add some meanness--he went out and learned boxing. Then it was to be more dynamic as a puck carrier and he came into camp and preseason after a summer with a skills coach making dekes he'd never tried before.
Even this season, I don't think it's a coincidence at all that when Panarin went down, Kreider went on his hot streak. And as the Rangers have rebuilt, he's been more than a pro about it--not whining or even expressing the least regret or frustration like Zucc, Hayes, and Hank--and has embraced the role of housing and helping to prepare the young prospects through the offseason.
You're right that in an ideal world... OTOH Laf has plenty of attitude, and what about the centers you replace Zibanejad and Strome with (two of the blandest players ever from a personality POV)? I think Kreider is an ideal "A". He will buy in to whatever is asked of him. But he's not guy to take charge of that kind of cultural things.
