Rangers activate veteran left winger off IR

The Rangers were one of the more active teams around the trade deadline, moving out several veterans in recent days.  

But they’re getting one back in the lineup Saturday afternoon against Ottawa as Mollie Walker of the New York Post relays that winger Chris Kreider has been activated off injured reserve.

Kreider had been dealing with an upper-body injury suffered in the first game back after the 4 Nations Face-Off break. While his goal production has still been reasonably high, it has been a tough year for the 33-year-old overall. Through 48 games this season, Kreider has 17 goals but just four assists, putting him on pace for the lowest full-season point total of his career.

His early season struggles had him placed on the trade market back in late November with GM Chris Drury looking to shake up the veteran core on his roster. The other veteran put on the block at that time (Jacob Trouba) ultimately was moved but a viable trade market never seemed to materialize for Kreider.

Kreider has two years left on his contract, one that carries a $6.5M cap charge and a 15-team no-trade list. A strong finish to his season could help bolster his market on the trade front and potentially help New York sneak into the postseason despite its recent moves as a seller. It entered play Saturday tied for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.