NHL Trade Rumors: Ex-Maple Leafs front office exec floats interesting Chris Kreider landing spot

On Monday, New York Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette scratched Chris Kreider from the lineup for their game against the New Jersey Devils. The Rangers were struggling this season losing 13 of their last 17 games and they did it to shake things up.

Kreider, 33, has been with the Rangers for a long time. He scored a career-high 52 goals in 2021-22 and 39 goals last season. This year, he has 11 goals and one assist in 30 games. His performance has dropped, which led to his benching.

Shawn Simpson, a former Toronto Maple Leafs GM, suggested on X that Chris Kreider could be a good fit with the Ottawa Senators. He believes Kreider could help young star Tim Stützle if he's open to joining Ottawa.

"Kreider would be a great fit with Stutzle if he was willing and excited to come to Ottawa. He could certainly use a fresh start," Simpson tweeted.

Senators have improved their performance in the last 10 games, winning 8. Their six-game win streak ended on Sunday with a 3-1 loss to Oilers. They have a record of 18-14-2 and are placed fifth in the Atlantic Division with 38 points. So, Kreider's inclusion in the lineup will give them some offensive depth and playoff experience.

Chris Kreider is signed to a seven-year contract, which runs through the 2026-27 season. This makes a trade difficult, but not impossible. The Rangers have been struggling, and general manager Chris Drury has said the team is open to trades. They recently traded captain Jacob Trouba and forward Kaapo Kakko.

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New York Rangers lost 5-0 in Chris Kreider's absence from lineup

The New York Rangers lost 5-0 to the New Jersey Devils on Monday. Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said the team wasn't generating enough chances.

"So, defensively, the last couple games, it's tightened up from a 5-on-5 standpoint, but we're not getting enough looks at what we need in order to be successful offensively," Laviolette said, per NHL.com.

Chris Kreider’s absence seemed to make the team struggle even more. The Rangers were shut out and couldn’t recover.

"It was just a lineup decision (benching Kreider) ... we needed more," Laviolette said.

Jack Hughes scored two goals and had an assist. He gave the Devils a 1-0 lead with a wrist shot early in the first period. In the second, Timo Meier made it 2-0 with a power-play goal. Hughes scored again for a 3-0 lead. In the third, Stefan Noesen added a goal for 4-0. Dawson Mercer scored a fifth goal on the power play.