The problem with trading Kreider while still hoping to re-sign him is that, if the team he’s traded to wants to extend him and has the ability to offer him a good contract, he’s likely to take it. Yes, some players are willing to take the chance and wait until they hit UFA status so they can test the market, but a lot more realize they are a single injury away from their career (or at least their ability to command a lot of money in free agency) ending, and so if the offer’s good and they don’t hate the team they’ll take the security of a long term deal over the possibility of making slightly more or being able to choose their destination in half a year.
That being the case, if the Rangers want to get something for Kreider while still being confident in their ability to sign him in the summer, they should trade him to a team that they know isn’t interested in bringing him back and would only be using him as a rental. The issue there is that such a team would likely not be willing to pay as much for him, as from their perspective they would be buying only his services for the remainder of the season and not also a head start on being able to negotiate with him for a new deal. So the dilemma the Rangers have (if it is true that they would like to bring him back) is do they seek to maximize his return and take the risk of losing him to the buying team, or do they move him to a team that they know won’t re-sign him at what would likely be a suboptimal price?
That's a big assumption. Not impossible to see, but certainly not a given. If there is merely "a good contract" [say conventional wisdom of 7 per] Rangers can compete with 6.2 x 5. If someone went crazy and offered Kreider 9-10 per, who could blame him for saying yes and the Rangers for saying no.
Some of us hoped Hayes, who is younger, might return at a do-able number, even if it invoked a wince. But Flyers stepped up with not only top dollar but also long term. With NY correctly grabbing Panarin and Trouba and failing to have heeded my insistence on shedding excess vets it was buh bye to Hayes, who chose to come here and who I think might have come back if it was ballpark close.
There is another factor. Money is not irrelevant but for some people in NY it is a manageable factor. Kreider is a guy, he scratches our back here, he earns a huge chit as a fan favorite, he writes his own ticket when he hangs up his skates.
The ?s are how many years does he want to add the extra wear and tear on his body vs a Cup push vs comfort. This guy is a magnificent physical specimen. Barring injury, he hits 34 years old fine. Breakdowns maybe start after that if at all, but there is your risk, not so much before, IMO.
The Rangers have some nice prospects about to emerge. They need to lose the excess vets to get to a core, but he has chemistry with Zib, they just need a facilitator to complete that line.
conclusion: tell Chris beforehand, we want to keep you a Ranger it is difficult to manufacture cap right now, we can conceivably do that post season. Would you please be good letting us pimp your ass out for half a season, so we can get some swag?
It is distasteful to have to go there, but this is the price you pay when too much of the base listened to the win now crowd with Clowe, EStaal etc overreaches and retaining too long on some vets.
Kreider does more than just jump out of a pool from a dead stop [start]. History of academic excellence suggests he is a smart guy.
We see how well Chapman returning to Yankees netting Gleyber Torres was best for everyone. Chris must be aware of that, can read the lines, between the lines.
Hopefully GMJG is not an idiot attempting to dictate hardball terms turning CK off. As long as that is not the case, we have a decent chance he returns after rental pimp out.
