The Rangers and Chris Kreider beat the clock on Friday, avoiding arbitration by agreeing to a new four-year contract with an annual average value of $4.625 million.
Advertisement
Kreider scored 21 goals and had 22 assists last season. But for the athletic.
With today’s signings of Chris Kreider and Kevin Hayes, the Rangers have $4.35 million in cap space according to Cap Friendly.
Kreider, 25, was a restricted free agent and set to have an arbitration hearing Friday, but just as they did two years ago, the player and club managed to strike a deal before the hearing began. On top of this, Kreider’s deal is exactly what was expected – many suggested that his extension would be similar to the one that New Jersey signed with Kyle Palmeri.
In addition, by locking up all of their arbitration eligible players, the Rangers now open up a secondary buyout window. Things would continue to be frosty between the two throughout the season, including the playoffs when Vigneault benched Hayes during the Rangers’ first-round series loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Rangers confirmed the agreement with Hayes, who was a restricted free agent, on their official Twitter account. Kreider was the 19th overall selection by the Rangers in the first round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
Details of the contract were not released, but CBC reported it to be four years and $18.5 million.
Kreider, who made his National Hockey League debut in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs and helped bring the Blueshirts to within two games of the Stanley Cup final, has 129 points in 248 National Hockey League games.
Advertisement
Prior to last season, Hayes was considered for the top six, possibly as a wing but he may still remain as the third-line center after the Rangers acquired Mika Zibanejad from the Senators for center Derick Brassard.
