Luke Fox of Sportsnet reports that while Chris Kreider enjoys his time at the All-Star weekend festivities, there is work to do on his next contract with the New York Rangers, assuming a contract extension is ever offered. Right now, the two sides aren’t even talking.
Fox reports that the Rangers and Kreider’s representatives are not currently engaged in contract extension talks which lends speculation to the idea of him being traded at the NHL Trade Deadline. He’s arguably the most discussed target for a number of NHL franchises but there are rumors the Rangers are waiting to confirm they’re out of it before he’s moved or not.
As the Rangers fall in the standings, speculation of a Kreider trade only grows but Kreider isn’t worried about the talk, or lack thereof. While it sounds like he knows he could be moved, he’s not focusing on it nor does he have his foot halfway out the door. He said, his mentality is, “I’m a Ranger until they tell me I’m not a Ranger.”
But, if he’s moved, where will he end up? Elliotte Friedman has named the Colorado Avalanche, Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins as clubs interested in Kreider’s services. The Bruins are rumored to have pegged him as their top target but salary cap issues might make that difficult.
Either way, with no talks and a number of interested teams likely calling, it seems incredible to think Kreider won’t be moved over the next four weeks.
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