Chris Kreider is officially a Montreal Canadiens forward, and it says plenty about where this franchise stands heading into camp this week.
Kreider carries a $2,150,000 cap hit onto a roster that looks nothing like the one Habs fans got used to a few years back.
He posted 22 goals and 28 assists for 50 points across 75 games last season, still producing at 35 years old.
The Athletic's Arpon Basu framed it bluntly on social media, and the pattern he described is hard to argue with.
Last year, Basu wrote, it was Noah Dobson watching the Canadiens from a distance before deciding he wanted in. This year, it's Kreider.
Dobson signed with Montreal last summer after leaving the Islanders, and he's carrying a $9,500,000 cap hit into his second season on the blue line.
Kreider reportedly pushed to join Montreal well before Anaheim moved on from his contract, and he's talked openly about the culture Martin St-Louis has built.
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That's the part that should worry other general managers. Montreal used to be the market players avoided. Now it's recruiting itself.
Word spreads in this league the way it spreads in a locker room, fast, unofficial, and usually true before anyone confirms it.
Nick Suzuki anchors that room with 29 goals and 101 points last season, the kind of number that turns a franchise into a destination.
Lane Hutson isn't far behind, either. He put up 78 points from the blue line, a workload that keeps drawing outside interest toward Montreal.
The Canadiens finished last season 48-24-10 for 106 points, good for sixth overall in the league standings.
Is a 35-year-old winger signing for culture reasons actually a hockey decision, or is it a bet on vibes? Bob's not fully sold.
Dobson's own transition hasn't been seamless everywhere. His last 10 games on record show zero points and a minus-6 rating, a reminder that arriving with a name doesn't guarantee instant fit.
Training camp opens Wednesday, and this time Kent Hughes walks in with a deeper, more talked-about group than a year ago.
Whether Kreider ages gracefully into that mix, or becomes another cautionary tale about chasing a good story, is the question nobody in Montreal wants to answer out loud yet.
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Will Chris Kreider still be a difference maker for the Canadiens at 35?
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