The New York Rangers have just four remaining members of the 2014 team that made the Stanley Cup final. Of them, Chris Kreider is due to hit free agency in the summer of 2020, one way or another, cannot be held waiting forever.
In terms of rebuilding, the New York Rangers are taking the long term path that requires ample patience. There is nothing wrong per se with taking multiple years to overhaul the roster and set the organization up for long-term success through drafting well and acquiring reclamation projects.
However, the players caught in limbo by the organization’s plan need to be handled properly. So far, this has meant dealing away veterans on expiring or soon to be expiring contracts. This was textbook asset management from Rangers’ general manager Jeff Gorton, a successful executive cannot just let a player walk away for nothing in free agency come July 1st.
Trading away Ryan McDonagh, J.T. Miller, Rick Nash, Kevin Hayes and Mats Zuccarello in a 12-month stretch is as drastic a measure as a G.M. can take. All of these players were either about to be or a year away from reaching free agency. In an alternate universe, Gorton could have opted to extend these players and keep going for it with the same core.
However, he elected to drastically overhaul the roster. This is where Chris Kreider, a free agent in the summer of 2020 comes into play. Right now, it is of the utmost importance for Gorton and his team to make an honest assessment of his team’s progress and how far away it is from being a legitimate contender.
A reasonable estimate says that it would take at least two more full seasons for the Rangers to return to the best postseason tournament in professional sports. This would make Kreider 29-years-old before he could sniff the playoffs again. At age 29, he’d be perfectly capable of playing at his current level.
The context
There is a serious argument that Gorton and company waited too long in the cases of Zuccarello and Hayes. Even as a rebuilding team, the Rangers need a handful of veteran players to keep the roster together. Throwing a bunch of early 20s somethings into a dressing room is a formula for disaster and how teams end up rebuilding for eight years.
Earlier in the month of February, Gorton and company opened contract negotiations with both Zuccarello and Hayes in hopes of possibly reaching an extension for each according to Larry Brooks of the New York Post. However, waiting as long as the Rangers’ brass did put them up against the clock and made negotiations quite difficult with a looming deadline.
There is a real scenario in which the front office makes the same decision with Kreider. The executives wait and see how the season starts and allow the player to perform at a level which allows them to ask for more money than they were asking for during the summer.
The rumored $7 million per year that Hayes was asking for this month was likely a step up from his summer asking price because of how well the Dorchester native was playing.
The reality
Waiting for the clock to start ticking on Kreider’ future is a recipe for another wait and see approach. In waiting so long to both pursue contract extensions or a potential trade, Gorton handicapped his own negotiating position and undermined his asset’s value. If he never intended on extending Hayes or Zuccarello he could’ve gotten more at last year’s deadline.
Now, there are reports from multiple sources that the Rangers fielded calls from other teams about a potential Kreider trade prior to this deadline. Being that the Boston College product is still in New York, that means the offers out there did not blow Gorton away. Ultimately, there needs to be a decision made by the draft in June.
Either Kreider needs a long-term extension in the neighborhood of $6.5 million per year for six years signed before draft day or Gorton needs several draft picks on the floor the day of. No more of this halfway in, halfway out negotiating. Either the Rangers need to commit to Kreider and feature him going forward or he needs to play for another team.
It may have taken the better part of nine seasons after the team originally drafted him, but Kreider is finally living up to his potential. Through 62 games this year, the forward has 47 points including 26 goals. If Kreider can hit the 30 goal plateau this year it’d be the first time in his entire career that he’d achieved the feat.
The longer the front office waits to make a choice on Kreider, the more difficult things become and the less he’s worth on the market.
The time for conjecture is coming to a close, a succesful rebuild requires decisive action and a plan. It seems that there is a plan in place, but the Rangers need to figure out whether or not Kreider is a part of it.