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Chris Kreider has had surgery to remove a small bone fragment from his wrist, the Rangers announced on Friday.
The surgery, which was performed by Dr. Robert Hotchkiss at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, was successful and has an expected timeline for recovery of two to four weeks.
Kreider, who is the longest-tenured Ranger, is coming off a career season in which he made his mark on the franchise’s record books and helped lead the team to its first conference final appearance since 2015. He finished the regular season as the third-highest goal scorer in the NHL with 52 tallies, finishing only behind the Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl (55) and the Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews (60), who won the Hart Trophy and the Ted Lindsay award.
The 30-year-old winger’s list of achievements in his 10th season with the Rangers is extensive. He was named an All-Star and set a new record for the most power-play goals (26) and the most game-winning tallies (11) in Rangers history. On April 11, Kreider became the fourth player in franchise history to score 50-plus goals in a single season, joining Jaromir Jagr, Adam Graves and Vic Hadfield.
Kreider also was awarded the Steven MacDonald Extra Effort Award and became the first ever winner of the Mr. Ranger Award, which was president in memory of Rangers legend Rod Gilbert.
With 25 assists to go along with his 52 goals, Kreider finished with a career-high 77 points in 81 games, which was a staggering 24 points higher than his previous personal best during the 2018-19 regular season. He had never reached the 30-goal mark until he obliterated it this season, having come within two twice throughout his career.
Kreider chipped in 10 goals and six assists in 20 playoff games as the Rangers came two wins away from a Stanley Cup Final berth. He is now heading into the third season of the seven-year, $45.5 million contract he signed with the Rangers in February 2020.
