Report: Rangers GM Gorton lays out plan for Kreider

New York Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton was a busy man yesterday as he continued to strip down his teams roster and rebuild the franchise from the ground up. In case you missed it, Gorton shipped veteran defenseman Adam McQuaid to the Columbus Blue Jackets for minor leaguer Juilius Bergman, a 4th and a 7th round pick then shipped center Kevin Hayes to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Brendan Lemieux, a 1st round pick and a conditional 4th round pick. A day earlier he traded Mats Zuccarello to the Dallas Stars in exchange for a 2nd and 3rd round pick.

Over the past year Gorton has traded away veteran Rangers players like Zuccarello, Hayes, Ryan McDonagh, Michael Grabner and Rick Nash in favor of picks and prospects. One veteran player though with an uncertain future in NYC is forward Chris Kreider. 

The 27 year old Kreider has another year remaining on a contract that pays him $4.625 annually. After that he’s slated to hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent. Suffice it to say, there will be plenty of interest in Kreider at next year’s deadline, should he even remain with the team that long.

Yesterday afternoon Gorton addressed Kreider’s situation and laid out the team’s long-term plans for him.

Check it out:

He’s history, isn’t he? If Gorton couldn’t envision Hayes, who is the same age as Kreider, as part of the team’s rebuild then it’s hard to imagine how Kreider fits in. Having said that with leaders like Zuccarello, McDonagh, Nash and Derek Stepan all headed out the door the past couple seasons, there’s a definite need for a veteran like Kreider in the lineup.

Line up your offers.