The New York Rangers found a way to free up cap space to use this summer in one of the hardest ways for their fan base when they traded team leader Chris Kreider to the Anaheim Ducks.

The move by the New York Rangers to trade Chris Kreider to the Anaheim Ducks comes with great emotion. For 13 seasons Kreider wore the Blueshirts jersey with pride and honor and cemented himself as one of the greatest Rangers players in franchise history. There was a great deal of talk regarding how Kreider’s tenure with the Rangers came to an end.

There is, however, no debate about the off-ice legacy Chris Kreider established, in which his popularity perhaps exceeded his production.