Chris Kreider arrives in Montreal with a job that is easy to spot from ice level: get to the blue paint, win the hard areas and give a young Canadiens group another proven playoff voice. The 35-year-old winger signed a one-year deal on Sept. 12 after a season in Anaheim, adding an experienced power forward to a club that reached the Eastern Conference Final last spring.
Chris Kreider gives Canadiens a net-front veteran for their next push
Montreal remains one of the League’s youngest teams despite the addition, carrying an average age of 25.68 and ranking fifth-youngest in the NHL. Kreider is now the oldest player on the roster, but his game still fits the Canadiens’ pace and transition identity.
The former Ranger spent his first 13 NHL regular seasons in New York before joining the Ducks last season. He scored 22 goals in each of the past two campaigns, but continued to do damage on the power play in Anaheim with eight goals and 17 points while up a man.
Quick facts
- Kreider signed a one-year contract with Montreal on Sept. 12.
- He produced 73 high-danger shots and 14 high-danger goals for Anaheim last season.
- His 25 tip-in goals since 2023-24 lead the NHL; Sidney Crosby is next with 20.
- Kreider posted a 22.89 mph top speed last season, placing him in the 82nd percentile among NHL forwards.
- He leads Montreal’s active roster with 135 playoff games, 50 playoff goals and 83 postseason points.
His most valuable work remains around the net. Kreider finished in the 93rd percentile among forwards in high-danger shots on goal last season, and his 14 goals from those areas ranked in the 87th percentile.
Since puck and player tracking began in 2021-22, only one NHL player has scored more high-danger goals than Kreider’s 130. He sits second in that category and seventh in high-danger shots with 537.
His peak season showed what that package can look like when everything clicks. Kreider scored a career-best 52 goals for the Rangers in 2021-22, led the NHL with 26 power-play goals and topped the League with 41 high-danger goals.
Only Edmonton’s Zach Hyman, with 45 in 2023-24, has recorded more high-danger goals in a single tracking-era season. Kreider followed his 52-goal year with 36 goals in 2022-23 and 39 in 2023-24, giving him three straight 30-goal seasons.
He was still a force in the danger areas three seasons ago, when he placed third in the NHL with 136 high-danger shots and tied for fourth with 31 goals from that territory.
Net-front fit
Kreider’s specialty is not subtle. He has led the NHL in tip-in goals over the past three seasons with 25, five ahead of Crosby, and has been the League leader since 2019-20 with 63. Florida’s Sam Reinhart is second over that longer span with 39.
Since 2015-16, Kreider has scored 102 goals via tip-ins or deflections: 91 tips and 11 deflections. That history gives Montreal another screen, rebound and retrieval option for its young skill players.
At even strength, he could land on the second or third line, with Phillip Danault, 33, and Josh Anderson, 32, possible veteran running mates. He also projects as a candidate for the second power-play unit, though his net-front record gives coach Martin St. Louis flexibility to move him into a top-line or first-unit role when needed.
Kreider reunites with St. Louis, his former Rangers teammate, on a Canadiens roster led by Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov up front. Lane Hutson anchors a young blue line, while Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler are among the club’s goaltending pieces.
Still has wheels
Kreider is no longer at the speed peak of his prime, but the tracking numbers say he can still get in on the rush. His 22.89 mph maximum last season was better than the 22.70 mph he registered in his final Rangers season, and he ranked in the 80th percentile in offensive-zone time percentage at 44.50 percent.
His top speed reached 23.02 mph in 2023-24, good for the 89th percentile, after marks of 23.21 mph in 2022-23 and 23.19 mph in 2021-22. Those earlier measurements both placed him in the 93rd percentile.
His 22-plus mph bursts dipped to four last season, a 73rd-percentile result. In each of the previous four seasons, however, he was at least in the 93rd percentile: 12 bursts in 2024-25, 12 in 2023-24, 21 in 2022-23 and 22 in 2021-22.
The Canadiens already had speed throughout their lineup. They finished sixth in the NHL with 2,142 bursts of 20 mph or more and ninth with 100 bursts above 22 mph last season.
Suzuki led Montreal’s listed maximum-speed group at 23.62 mph, placing in the 96th percentile. Anderson reached 23.28 mph, Alex Newhook 23.14, Hutson 22.97 and Mike Matheson 22.81, all strong percentile results that could help pull Kreider into more transition chances.
There is also the heavier side of the addition. Kreider recorded 69 hits in Anaheim last season and has averaged 1.7 per game across his career. He can contribute on the penalty kill, bring secondary scoring and add a player who has been through long playoff runs.
Anaheim had six 50-point players last season and used Kreider’s veteran presence while ending its playoff drought dating to 2018. The Ducks also won a postseason round for the first time since 2017.
Montreal’s ceiling now rests on how quickly its young core continues to grow. Kreider’s track record around the crease, his remaining speed and his 135-game playoff resume give the Canadiens a practical veteran complement as they try to turn an Eastern Conference Final run into a Stanley Cup Final push.
SEO title: Chris Kreider brings net-front scoring and playoff experience to Canadiens
SEO description: Montreal adds Chris Kreider on a one-year deal, gaining a proven tip-in scorer, power-play threat, physical winger and experienced playoff presence.
