Chris Kreider’s landing in Montreal shouldn’t be much of a surprise to Rangers fans. After all, the likelihood of a reunion was pretty slim.
But there’s a lot more to the Canadiens signing the former Ranger than history coming full circle. Kreider will now have an opportunity to haunt the Rangers.
Right off the bat, the rumor mill made it known that the former Rangers first-rounder wanted to play on the East Coast. Boston emerged as a logical landing spot, but there were connections to Montreal that ultimately played a role in Kreider’s eventual arrival in Eastern Canada.
Jeff Gorton, who was GM of the Rangers, is the President of Hockey Operations for the Habs. Also, Jim Ramsay, a longtime trainer for the Blueshirts, now works for the Canadiens.
Those connections facilitated Montreal’s acquisition of the former 50-goal scorer.
And if you don’t think there are some sour grapes there, you have another thing coming.
Heading over to an Eastern Conference rival has given all of the gentlemen in question a chance to exact revenge on the Rangers. And while Kreider had a couple of chances to burn his former team while playing with the Ducks, the chances now will be much different. Kreider will have a chance to play against the Rangers regularly. That situation will provide a perfect opportunity to show the team what it gave up when Kreider was pushed out the door.
Kreider in Montreal is more about karma than vengeance
Of course, Rangers fans want to see Chris Kreider succeed. It’s just a matter of nostalgia, wanting to see a former player do well wherever he goes.
But for Kreider himself, this situation is more about karma than actual vengeance. It’s not like the former Ranger woke up on Saturday morning and thought about signing with the Habs just to spite the Rangers.
His decision was rooted in practicality. Kreider wanted to sign in the East and wanted to play for a contender. That situation could have led him to teams like Buffalo, Carolina, and Tampa. Instead, it was Montreal. And the aforementioned connections facilitated that move.
That’s why this situation seems like something out of a Seinfeld episode.
Kreider and the Canadiens may get their chance to flip the script on that infamous 2014 incident involving Carey Price. After being the villain for so long in Montreal, Kreider may just have the chance to turn things around.
If he does, it will come to the chagrin of Rangers fans. But then again, isn’t that something that Chris Drury should have thought about? Not that Kreider would come back and knock Igor Shesterkin out of a game, but burning bridges is never a good way to do business.
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