New York Rangers president John Davidson announced Monday that forward Chris Kreider’s contract had been extended and that two players were injured in a car accident.
Kreider, 28, was in the final season of a four-year contract and would have become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He agreed to terms on a seven-year deal. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Both sides worked hard at this, (Rangers general manager) Jeff Gorton and (Kreider’s agent) Matt Keator along with Chris and the rest of us,” Davidson said. “There’s lots of dialog that’s gone on for a few days and both sides are very happy with the deal we’ve made and put together.”
Davidson also said the two players sustained non-life-threatening injuries in Sunday night’s crash in Brooklyn.
Goaltender Igor Shesterkin, who was driving, broke a rib and will be reevaluated in two weeks. Forward Pavel Buchnevich was a passenger and is listed as day-to-day after avoiding any serious injuries.
“Igor was driving and apparently a vehicle pulled a U-turn in front of them and there was a collision,” Davidson said. “The air bags were deployed immediately and the seat belts were being worn by both players and thankfully for that, and I mean thankfully for that.”
Kreider has 45 points (24 goals, 21 assists) in 60 games this season. A first-round pick by the Rangers in 2009, he has 316 points (157 goals, 159 assists) in 520 career games.
Shesterkin, 24, made his NHL debut on Jan. 7 and is 9-1-0 with a 2.23 goals-against average and .940 save percentage in 10 games this season.
Buchnevich, 24, has 14 goals and 23 assists in 61 games this season. Since making his NHL debut with the Rangers in 2016-17, he has 138 points (57 goals, 81 assists) in 240 games.
–Field Level Media
