He is faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive, yet Chris Kreider hasn’t been anyone’s idea of a superhero this season.
Unless, that is, he has used his powers to disappear for significant stretches before reappearing as he did in Sunday’s 1-0 overtime victory over the Red Wings at the Garden, and never more so than on the final shift when he came back to sweep an on-edge puck out of Henrik Lundqvist’s crease before it might have wobbled in before triggering the 2-on-1 on which Kevin Klein converted Kevin Hayes’ feed at 1:59.
It capped a sturdy performance from Kreider, who consistently used his size and strength as disruptive, uh, forces in the Detroit zone. There hasn’t been nearly enough of that from No. 20, whose season began horribly and has never quite gotten untracked. Indeed, this was his first game of consequence in weeks.
The common wisdom regarding this uncommonly intelligent athlete is he is his worst enemy, he overthinks the game. Still in only his third full NHL season, the winger who turns 25 on April 30 remains a work in progress even if progress isn’t always easy to discern.
And now, a week away from the Feb. 29 trade deadline, Kreider’s name has begun to pop up with more frequency, though it is far more likely that is because he is a target for clubs seeking to do business with general manager Jeff Gorton than it is because the Rangers have made it known that the winger is available.
Kreider has value, and at this point perhaps most importantly to the Rangers as a playoff performer rather than as a trade chip. He first made his mark fresh off the Chestnut Hill campus at Boston College during the first round of the 2012 tournament, and has elevated his game each ensuing spring. Indeed, Kreider is one of 21 active players to have played in at least 60 postseason games while averaging 0.3 goals per (18 in 60).
Still, Kreider has 11 goals this season after getting 21 as a sophomore last season. The winger with burning speed whose original calling card was his ability to scoot and shoot off the wing has not scored a single goal on a first shot after gaining the zone on the rush. He has also failed to convert a single breakaway, including missed penalty shots in consecutive games in late November.
And though Kreider is consistently willing to go to the front on the power play, he has scored one power-play goal (on a deflection in Ottawa on Nov. 14) after getting a team-leading seven last season. Breaking it down, it has all broken down for him offensively.
Analysis of Kreider’s value is impacted by Rick Nash’s continuing absence with the left leg deep bone bruise he sustained one month ago and has never been as benign as it might sound. There is no ETA for Nash, who missed his 12th straight game Sunday and who has not skated since taking a brief and painful twirl on Feb. 3.
If the Rangers receive a definitive negative prognosis in the upcoming week, we will likely know it by the deadline. Because if the organization has sufficient reason to believe Nash will be out for the remainder of the season that concludes Apr. 9, they will place the winger on retroactive LTI, thus reaping approximately an additional $3.27 million of cap space with which to shop on the market.
Nash would be eligible to return for the tournament. This is the same scenario under which the Blackhawks operated last year when Patrick Kane fractured his collarbone on Feb. 24 but returned for the first game of the first round.
It is worthwhile repeating that Kreider is still not yet 25. As such, featuring him in a deal for a rental such as Carolina’s 31-year-old Eric Staal would seem anathema. Sending a first-rounder the other way instead — if necessary — would have no impact this year or next and thus would seem the less onerous option for a team with immediate Cup aspirations.
But there is this: Kreider is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent in two years. And so the equation would change if the elder Staal brother would signal his willingness beforehand to sign a two- or three-year below-market contract, say in the $5.5 million neighborhood, to unite with Marc.
This, of course, is hypothetical. All of it is … except for Kreider’s bad season. There are three games to go until the deadline. Three games for Gorton and his staff to evaluate whether Kreider has reappeared for good; three games to decide whether No. 20 has more value to the organization as a trade Blue Chip or by wearing the Blueshirt.