Chris Kreider’s Future With Rangers Is On Thin Ice

Chris Kreider was a surprising healthy scratch for the New York Rangers on Monday afternoon against the New Jersey Devils.

What exactly does this mean for his future in New York?

Rangers general manager Chris Drury sent a league-wide memo a couple of weeks ago, specifically mentioning Kreider as a player the team is open to trading, so the writing was always on the wall.

Getting scratched out of the lineup seems like the breaking point for Kreider and the Rangers.

When New York left Jacob Trouba out of the lineup, it was due to roster management reasons, but that wasn’t the case for Kreider.

When asked why he decided to bench Kreider, Peter Laviolette pointed toward the team’s performance as of late and how it simply hasn’t been good enough.

“It was just a lineup decision,” Laviolette said. “We just need more…”

“At the end of the day, we’re not playing a brand that we need to play in order to be successful,” Laviolette said. “He’s a guy that we count on to help deliver that. For me, those conversations aren’t easy, but that’s the decision that I made today.”

Laviolette essentially used Kreider to set an example that no player is guaranteed a roster spot and that they will have to earn it with their play.

The veteran forward has certainly been through his struggles this season. However, he by all means has not been the team’s weakest link.

Kreider’s tenure with the Rangers spans back 13 years, so to see him get benched in this fashion just feels fishy.

It’s more about the situation the Rangers currently find themselves in as opposed to Kreider’s individual play.

If the Drury decides to take more of a seller’s approach in an attempt to reshape New York’s core, Kreider may very well be the first domino to fall.