Chris Kreider’s number should be retired. This is not a unique opinion, and it comes with easy logic. Chris Kreider was one of the best Rangers players in team history. Full stop. You could say whatever you want about Kreider, but for his entire career with the team, he exemplified what it meant to be a Ranger. Kreider of course got traded to the Anaheim Ducks this offseason, ending his illustrious Rangers career with a whimper of a season. Fans were saddened by the departure, but most understood that it was time for both parties to move on.
Following the trade, there was plenty of discussion surrounding whether or not Chris Kreider’s number should be retired. I was staunchly in the “he should not” opinion, believing that numbers should be retired for those who won the ultimate prize. I’ve since had some time to reconsider, and after a lot of consideration, I lean more toward that Chris Kreider’s number should be retired.
Different organizations follow different rules to determine who does/doesn’t get their numbers retired. Some teams require players to have won a championship with their team, others require the player to have been elected into the Hall of Fame, and others retire numbers more willy nilly. The Rangers don’t appear to have any set rules on who gets the nod.
Normally I have been one to believe that a player should win a championship with the team to be considered to have their number retired. But after a lot of thinking, I believe that’s foolish. The Stanley Cup is incredibly difficult to win. Kreider reached the Conference Finals four times and the Stanley Cup once, contributing heavily each time. In the Rangers Stanley Cup run in 2014, Kreider was one of the top performers along the way.
One could argue that Kreider could have done more, but everyone could have. Henrik Lundqvist had his jersey retired with fewer Conference Finals appearances and also could have prevented some of the losses. He got his jersey retired.
No one would consider Kreider’s career as illustrious as Lundqvist’s, but Kreider did everything a non-superstar could do. A 50-goal season, a bevy of huge playoff goals, team records, and wearing an A as an Alternate Captain. Not only that, but Kreider was a clear fan favorite, a media darling, and an all-around great person.
Players don’t get their jerseys retired for being Good Dudes, but this is all to show that for an era of Rangers hockey, Kreider was one of the main guys. The Rangers had unprecedented success throughout Kreider’s career, and they couldn’t have done it without him. While fans in 30, 40, 50 years may not look at Kreider’s stats and say “hey, that was a star,” they will watch his playoff goals and feel the joy we all felt watching Kreider.
In the end, could you ever see another Ranger wearing Kreider’s #20? After a lot of thought, I couldn’t. I hope the next time we see that jersey on the Madison Square Garden ice, Kreider is there, watching it be raised into the rafters.
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