Kreider joins Canadiens, hopes to win over ‘passionate’ fans

LAVAL, Quebec -- Chris Kreider knows all about fans of the Montreal Canadiens. 

“It’s a passionate fanbase,” Kreider said Monday. 

Ever since he collided with Canadiens goalie Carey Price in Game 1 of the 2014 Eastern Conference Final, the forward has heard boos each time he’s stepped onto Montreal ice. 

Now, he’s playing for the home team.  

“I think they’ve got long memories so either way I’m going to go out there and work as hard as I can and do whatever it takes to help this team win hockey games,” Kreider said Monday at the Canadiens preseason golf tournament. 

He was there, wearing his Canadiens golf gear, including a white hat, just two days after signing a one-year contract with the Canadiens on Saturday. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

But for years, he has worn the black hat in Montreal for the play that took out Price for the rest of the playoffs with a lower-body injury, the Rangers winning in five games en route to the Stanley Cup Final. 

“It was not intentional in any way,” Kreider said. “I was just a young kid and a pretty bad skater at the time trying to score a goal and things happen. So it’s hockey. It’s fast but we move on and I’m happy to be here.”

Asked if he had ever been in contact with Price about the incident, Kreider was led straight into a double entendre.

“No, I’ve never bumped into him,” he said, before laughing and saying, “Nice”, after his answer echoed the question.

One of Kreider’s teammates on the 2014 Rangers was Martin St. Louis, the current coach of the Canadiens who signed a four-year extension on Monday. 

In fact, St. Louis was Kreider’s linemate during his two seasons with New York, including the Rangers playoff run in 2013-14. 

Montreal’s current team president Jeff Gorton was the Rangers general manager from July 1, 2015 through May 5, 2021. Kreider played for the Rangers during all of Gorton’s six seasons there.

So the Price play isn’t the only history Kreider has with Montreal. His relationships with St. Louis and Gorton played a big role in him signing with the Canadiens after he had his contract terminated by the Anaheim Ducks on Sept. 10. 

“Yeah, Montreal was pretty aggressive right out of the gate. Obviously, there are several connections to my time spent in New York so there’s a familiarity there. So I think that certainly helped as well,” Kreider said. “And I think just everything that they’re doing here and have been doing for a few years, the culture that they’ve built, the group that they have. Obviously it’s a pretty big hockey city. The passion, I mean, I tried to explain it to some of my friends, that it’s not just a sport here, it’s a religion. So it’s a pretty amazing place to get the opportunity to play and I’m really excited to play at the Bell Centre.”

Kreider has experience being coached by St. Louis as well. He reached out to him for individual coaching help before St. Louis was hired by Montreal in February 2022.

“Yeah, that’s a massive draw for me having been lucky enough to play with him towards the end there in New York,” Kreider said. “Even back then he was almost like a player-coach. I mean the intensity, the tenacity and just the things that he brought to the rink every day. I don’t think that I can say that I’ve learned more from any one individual than the time that I spent playing with him on his line. Super-wise, incredibly smart, even back then you knew he’d be a great coach.”

Kreider, 35, had 50 points (22 goals, 28 assists) in 75 regular-season games and seven points (two goals, five assists) in 12 Stanley Cup Playoff games last season, his first with the Ducks after being traded by the Rangers for forward prospect Carey Terrance and a third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft on June 11, 2025.

“I think the most important thing whenever you join a new team is to win the trust of your teammates,” Kreider said. “Do the right things, play the right way, show up and work hard every single day. And having played on teams with passionate fanbases before, you show up and you work, that’s all you can do.”

In 14 NHL seasons with New York and Anaheim, Kreider has 632 points (348 goals, 284 assists) in 958 regular-season games and 83 points (50 goals, 33 assists) in 135 playoff games. Since joining the NHL in 2012-13, he has 124 power-play goals, which is 10th most in that time span. 

“I’ll do whatever I can, whatever role they need me to play,” Kreider said. “Power play, penalty kill. Obviously, there’s a terrific power play here so maybe it means more penalty killing. Regardless, if I’m in the lineup, I’m working hard and doing whatever they ask.” 

St. Louis noted that the addition of Kreider checks a number of boxes on the Canadiens’ wish list, particularly experience, sandpaper and net-front presence.

“All these boxes wouldn’t matter unless he was a quality human being,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “And to me it starts with that for Chris, so we’re really looking forward to getting him with our group and get going.”