Chris Kreider
There’s nowhere else I can really start, is there? Chris Kreider is the most obvious candidate for this category. This is not to say Kreider is not a good player, far from it. He’s been a consistent goal scorer for the Rangers throughout his career. He came through in a big way for the organization last year, but at almost 32 years of age, I think it is fair to say that was more of a career season than a breakout year.
52 goals and 77 points from the Boxford, Massachusetts native would be huge for this upcoming season. However, Kreider hadn’t gotten more than 28 goals in a year until last season. Then he hit almost double that. His 77 points were also a career-high. Prior to that, it was 53. It’s really unsustainable. While it was a fantastic year for the team in large part due to Kreider, it is just so unlikely to happen again.
When I say Kreider was a driving force for the Rangers’ wins, he had 11 game-winning goals in the regular season. Add in the three-game winners he tallied in the post-season and Kredier’s success quickly molded with the Rangers’ success. It seemed like the Rangers were just in the wake of Kreider as he kept hitting new heights, along for the ride and sharing in the personal success.
Not to say the Rangers were a one-man team, of course not. But Kreider became the major driving force. According to Hockey Reference, Kreider had a point share of 10.8. That means he added roughly 11 points to the Rangers’ total with how strong his performances were last year. That is more than 5 wins. But, he’s never proven himself to be this kind of player. While Rangers fans around the world would love to see it this year, it is unlikely.