NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Kreider had never been in the visitors' locker room at Madison Square Garden before, and he needed someone to show him how to get on the ice for the Anaheim Ducks' morning skate.
It was an unfamiliar feeling for the NHL forward who spent 13 seasons with the New York Rangers, although he wasn't going through it alone. Kryder will be able to do this together with former Rangers captain Jacob Troubaas they play their first game in their old home arena Monday night after being shipped across the country in separate trades.
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The furnace went to Anaheim a little over a year ago after pressure from the front office to waive his no-trade clause and spent the summer working out the change. Kreider received a deal in June after the same pressure, so his runway became much shorter due to the fast pace and preparation of playing hockey for a new team.
“I don’t think the situation was completely resolved in the offseason,” Kreider said. “It didn't feel real until I got on the plane to California, and then I was completely focused on getting my bearings there, getting on board with the new group and getting to know everyone, getting to know the whole environment. I really didn't have time.”
Kreider has spent a lot of time in New York since his debut in the 2012 playoffs. His 883 regular season games played over those 13 years rank sixth in franchise history. He is tied for the most power-play goals (116) and ranks among the leaders in other statistical categories.
Trouba spent over five seasons with the Original Six club, two or more seasons with the “C” on his chest as its leader. His wife, who is pursuing a medical career, encouraged him to request a trade there from Winnipeg in 2019. The couple had a son while living in New York, and returning to his old neighborhood on Sunday night left the 31-year-old emotional.
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“I learned so much during my time here about myself, about hockey, about raising a family,” Trouba said. “I think the growth of the group and the team while I was here and the growth of myself is what I remember most.”
Their exits following the respected forward Barclay Goodrow received a waiver in the summer of 2024 and the landing in San Jose took place unceremoniously. General manager Chris Drury sent a memo to the rest of the league specifying that Trouba and Kreider were available, and each player ended up with the Ducks as the Rangers sought to turn around a roster that had failed to win the Stanley Cup.
Trumpet admitted that the process of being unwanted and then leaving a place where he wanted to stay was difficult. Kreider, whose No. 20 might one day hang from the Garden rafters if he spent his entire career there, chooses not to look back in anger.
“You try not to live in the past,” Crider said. “It's arrogant to think you know what something is at the moment. You don't necessarily know whether it's going to be good or bad, so you just take it in stride.”
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Kreider and Trouba aren't the only former Rangers players currently playing in Anaheim. They also have former teammates Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano to lean on.
“It made the transition very easy — and I mean easier — having Jacob, Frank and Stromer,” Crider said. “Such acquaintance certainly helps. The whole group was great.”
Coach Joel Quenneville, who had its own emotional payoff in Chicago in October, when he returned for the first time since being suspended from the NHL for his role in a 2010 sex abuse scandal involving his Blackhawks, he doesn't want to pretend to know how Kreider and Trouba should treat theirs.
However, he knows the veteran players have made a big impact on the Ducks, quickly developing into a contender. They are in the playoffs heading into the season's midway point and on track to end a seven-year drought.
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“(Kreider) instantly turned our power play and our team around right off the bat,” Quenneville said. “And Traubs had a great start to the season, playing more minutes than we thought he would, and suddenly offensively he was productive in a lot of ways that we didn't expect either.”
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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
