The Montreal Canadiens have made a much needed addition to their roster as the 2026-2027 season draws near with Chris Kreider joining the team on a one year, $2.15 million contract. The Canadiens were able to take advantage of a dire situation for the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks were forced to terminate Kreider’s contract due to salary cap constraints as they needed to open up room for Cutter Gauthier, making Kreider the sacrificial lamb. Anaheim’s loss is Montreal’s gain as Kreider should be a valuable asset for this team.
Kreider Comments on Signing with Montreal
Kreider met with Montreal reporters today as training camp approaches for his Canadiens team this week. He was asked about what factors led to him choosing Montreal as his preferred destination. Kreider stated: “I think just everything that they’re doing here and have been doing for a years now, the culture that they’ve built, the group that they have. It’s a pretty big hockey city, the passion, I’ve tried to explain it to some of my friends. It’s not just a sport here, it’s a religion.” It’s a pretty amazing place if you get the opportunity to play, and I’m really excited to play at the Bell Centre.”
Montreal has become an attractive location for players around the league as a promising youth team on the rise. In terms of fit, the Canadiens make perfect sense for Kreider. He will likely slot into a second line position on this squad and have a prevalent role on the power play. He could be the linemate that Ivan Demidov needs to complement his game. Demidov’s playmaking ability paired with Kreider’s knack for scoring net-front goals could be a lethal combination.
Kreider should also be a leader for this young group as he carries with him 15 years of NHL experience, the majority of which were spent with the New York Rangers. Over the course of his 958 game regular season career, Kreider has amassed 348 goals and 284 assists for 632 points. In 135 postseason games, he has tallied 50 goals and 33 assists for 83 points.
Jeff Gorton Discusses Kreider’s History with Carey Price
The Canadiens fanbase will have mixed feelings over the Kreider signing. While Kreider should help this team on the ice, he does have past history when playing against this squad. His infamous collision with goaltender Carey Price in the 2014 postseason is a moment that has not been forgotten by the “Habs” faithful.
Nevertheless, Montreal’s president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton does not see this as a problem. Gorton discussed Kreider’s Price run-in with reporters at the Canadiens annual golf tournament: “It’s been a long time. We always knew that Carey never held a grudge, that helps it. I was with NYR when it happened, so I had a different perspective than I think some people in here did. I don’t know how when you’re going 30 mph like that, anybody could stand here and say that was intentionally done. If you know Chris, he’s almost played a 1,000 games. If you ask anybody in the NHL, he’s never tried to hurt anybody. I wouldn’t worry about any of that, I think it’s gonna all work out.”
Time heals all wounds. If Kreider performs well for Montreal, fans will likely forget about this incident. Kreider could be the top-six forward addition this team needed; it will be interesting to see how he fits in.
Chris Kreider Reveals Why He Signed With the Canadiens