The day Chris Kreider was traded will go down as the day a new era of New York Rangers hockey began. Kreider has undeniably been the face of the franchise for the past decade. He wasn't always the best player on the team, he never wore a 'C' on his chest, but his outsized impact and influence on the squad, both on and off the ice, became one of the franchise's most poorly kept secrets. The pain of the last season is still raw. We're all still a little numb, so processing Kreider's departure might be too big an ask for some, and that's okay, but I'm still struggling to imagine the Rangers without '20' out there. I'm going to miss him. I already miss him, and I'm not ashamed to say it.
However...I am a little bit ashamed at just how much I'm going to miss his face. By 'face' I literally mean his face.
Not just that face. All of his faces. His many...many faces.
I can tell you with near-certainty (because no one will ever have the time, nor will, to factcheck me) that Chris Kreider is the most prolific funny face-maker in the history of hockey…maybe the history of professional sports.
I'm not exaggerating when I say it would be more difficult finding photos of him with a normal facial expression as opposed to a weird one.
If you don't believe me, I encourage you to leaf through the photographs of a game. Any game. Throw a dart. It doesn't matter. Actually, I'll just do it for you. You're welcome.