Chris Kreider is suddenly sitting in the kind of spot that can change a team’s summer plans. After clearing waivers, he’s now an unrestricted free agent and free to choose his next destination. For the Canadiens, that opens the door to a move that may not have looked realistic before, but now makes plenty of sense.
There’s obvious baggage here from Kreider’s years with the New York Rangers, and the relationship with Montreal has hardly been warm. Still, the fit is hard to ignore. The Canadiens need help, and Kreider brings a set of tools that lines up neatly with what they’re trying to build.
The biggest selling point is simple: he upgrades the top six without costing Montreal any assets. Kreider could slide onto the first line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, which would push Juraj Slafkovsky down to a line with Ivan Demidov.
Another option would be to put Kreider with Demidov on the second line. Either way, Montreal gets better.
His goal totals have dropped over the last few seasons, falling from 52 in 2021-22 to 22 in each of the past two seasons. But that dip has come with fewer shots, not a sudden loss of touch. Over the past five seasons, he’s hovered around a 15% shooting percentage, which points to a player who still finishes when chances come his way.
And because he’s now a free agent, this is no longer about paying the price in a trade. That matters.
Kreider isn’t a long-term answer, and he shouldn’t be treated like one. But on a one- or two-year deal, he fits the bill as a short-term boost.
He also brings something Montreal will be chasing once the games get tighter: playoff production. The Canadiens want to get to the postseason, sure, but the bigger goal is making noise once they’re there. Kreider has never won a Stanley Cup, but his playoff resume says he can still be useful in that environment.
Across 11 seasons with the New York Rangers and Anaheim Ducks, he has played 135 playoff games and posted 83 points, including 50 goals and 33 assists. Even now, he’s still producing. With the Ducks, he has seven points in 12 games.
That kind of veteran presence would matter for a Montreal group that already has Suzuki, Caufield, Demidov and Slafkovsky. Kreider wouldn’t need to be the engine. He could be a secondary weapon, and that’s exactly the sort of role that can pay off in the spring.
Then there’s the physical side, which became impossible to ignore against the Carolina Hurricanes. Montreal got pushed around, and that has to be addressed. Kreider would bring some of the size and muscle they were missing.
At 6'4", he’s long been willing to throw his weight around, and his 1,662 career hits back that up, even if that number has dipped in recent seasons. He also knows how to get to the front of the net, something Canadiens fans remember too well from his hit on Carey Price back in 2014.
A decade later, Kreider can still deliver that same kind of impact. Now that he’s available, Kent Hughes has a move worth seriously considering.
In Other News...
Canadiens Risk A Costly Distraction With Martin St. Louis Unsettled
Martin St. Louis has become a central part of the Canadiens rebuild, not just because of the way the team has started to climb back toward respectability, but because of the manner in which he has handled a young roster still learning how to win. His influence on the development of Montreals core has been a steadying force, and with the group pushing closer to playoff competitiveness, continuity behind the bench matters as much as talent on the ice.
The issue now is timing, and timing is where the risk sits. Montreal can ill afford a season where every rough patch invites questions about the coachs future, especially with a young team that still needs a clear voice and a stable plan. The longer the contract situation lingers, the more it threatens to become an unnecessary backdrop to a year the Canadiens should be spending on progress rather than speculation. [Read more 🡒]
Claude Lemieuxs Brother Shares A Painful New Look At His Death
Jocelyn Lemieux has spoken publicly for the first time since the death of his brother, former Montreal Canadiens forward Claude Lemieux, and his comments brought a painful new layer to a tragedy that has shaken the hockey world. In the interview, Jocelyn revisited the brothers shared path through the game, including the rugged style that helped define both of their careers, while also reflecting on the growing conversation around brain trauma and what it can do to players who spent years absorbing the physical toll of the sport.
What made the loss even harder to process, he said, was how recent their contact had been and how normal Claude had seemed before his death. Jocelyn also described personal notes left behind by his brother, including one that exposed a side of Claude he had never seen before, a detail that underscored just how much pain was hidden beneath the surface. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Praise For Arber Xhekaj Just Made This Standoff More Interesting
Arber Xhekajs summer has already included one quiet bit of validation from inside the Canadiens organization. Assistant coach Stphane Robidas praised the young defensemans progress and the professionalism he has shown since arriving in Montreal, a notable vote of confidence for a player whose value has never been captured fully by the box score. Xhekaj put up 4 points in 65 games last season, but his appeal has always stretched well beyond offense.
What makes the situation worth watching is that he has kept training even without a contract, which suggests both sides are still treating this as a workable process rather than a hard break. The hold-up appears to be less about money than about usage and opportunity, with ice time believed to be the main issue in the talks. For a defender still trying to define his place in the lineup, that makes Robidas praise feel like more than polite coaching talk. [Read more 🡒]