NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Kreider had never been to a visiting team’s locker room at Madison Square Garden before, and he needed someone to teach him how to get in during the Anaheim Ducks’ morning skate.
It’s an unfamiliar feeling for the NHL forward, who played 13 seasons with the New York Rangers, although he’s not alone in experiencing it. Kreider will be joined by former Rangers captain Jacob Trouba in that assignment, playing their first game Monday night in their old home since they were separately traded across the country.
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Trouba arrived in Anaheim more than a year ago amid pressure from the front office to waive his no-trade clause and spent the summer dealing with the change. Kreider was traded in June under similar pressure, so he has a much shorter runway as he enters a whirlwind move and prepares to play hockey for a new team.
“I don’t think the offseason situation is completely resolved yet,” Kreider said. “It didn’t feel real until I got on a plane to California and started getting my bearings, getting myself involved with a new group, getting to know everyone, and getting to know the whole environment. I really didn’t have time.”
Kreider has spent a lot of time in New York since making his playoff debut in 2012. Over those 13 years, he played in 883 regular-season games, sixth-most in franchise history, tied for the most power-playing goals with 116, and ranked first in other statistical categories.
Trouba spent more than five seasons with the “Original Six” club and replaced the leader with the “C” on his chest for two seasons. His wife, who has a medical career, prompted him to request a trade from Winnipeg in 2019. The couple had a son while living in New York, and returning to his home community on Sunday night left the 31-year-old emotional.
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“I’ve learned a lot here about myself, about hockey, about building a family,” Trouba said. “I think the growth of the team and the team, as well as my own growth, during my time here is what I look back on the most.”
Their exit was unceremonious after respected forward Barclay Goudreau cleared waivers and landed in San Jose in the summer of 2024. General manager Chris Drury sent a memo to the rest of the league stating both Trouba and Kreider were available, and each player ended up joining the Ducks as the Rangers tried to shake up a roster that failed to win a Stanley Cup.
Trouba admitted that the process of being unwanted and then transported away from where he wanted to stay was difficult. Kreider’s No. 20 jersey might one day hang in the rafters of the Garden if he had played there his entire career, but he’d rather not look back in anger.
“You try not to live in the past,” Kreider said. “The idea that you know what something is at a given moment is arrogant. You don’t necessarily know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing, so just take it in stride.”
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Kreider and Trouba aren’t the only former Rangers currently playing in Anaheim. They also have former teammates Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano to rely on.
“It made the transition super easy — and I mean easier — having Jacob, Frank, Stromer out there,” Kreider said. “That familiarity definitely helps. The whole team is great.”
Coach Joel Quenneville, who made an emotional return to Chicago in October for the first time since being suspended by the NHL in 2010 for his role in a sexual assault scandal involving the Blackhawks, didn’t want to pretend to know how Kreider and Trouba should feel about their encounter.
However, he does know the veteran players have had a huge impact on the Ducks’ meteoric rise into a contender. They were in the playoffs midway through the season and were on track to end a seven-year drought.
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“(Kreider) started our power play right away and our team hit the ground running,” Quenneville said. “Troubs got off to a great start this season, played more minutes than we expected, and all of a sudden he was productive in a lot of areas offensively that we didn’t see coming.”
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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
