What the Red Wings Missed by Not Signing Veteran Winger Chris Kreider

The value of veteran leadership Detroit Red Wings needed

Detroit Red Wings logo Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Every team needs a veteran presence in the locker room, but a veteran who can still bring many tools to the team. The Detroit Red Wings would have benefited from having this one player on their team.

We understand that the Red Wings are trying to stay young and compete for the playoffs. One can't help but want to envision what it would have been like to acquire this player for one season.

The Winger Who Would Have Brought Value

Anaheim Ducks left wing Chris Kreider Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Red Wings can't always recruit the best available free agent or acquire the best player in the trade market. Sometimes we like to think in fantasy terms. It is hard to deny, though that Detroit would have gained so much goodness had they gone after Chris Kreider. 

Kreider may or may not have been a long shot. Maybe the Red Wings weren't thinking far enough ahead in acquiring him. However, the 35-year-old still has plenty of juice. Kreider has now joined a new team, the Montreal Canadiens. Kreider is a great leader, and the young Red Wings would have learned a lot from his guidance and experience.

Kreider is 6-foot-3, 232 pounds. He brings size, speed, and net presence to any NHL team. The Canadiens are lucky to get him, and they are trying to reach for the Stanley Cup after making it to the Eastern Conference Final last season. Kreider posted a 22-goal, 50-point season with the Anaheim Ducks last season.

One of the best leadership moments of Kreider's career that maybe doesn't sit well with a certain crowd is when he took Mika Zibanejad's tablet off his hands and slammed it to the ground during Game 6 of a playoff game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Zibanejad was trying to learn what he did right or wrong during a certain possession.

Technology is advancing rapidly. Technology is accessible in sports nowadays, but Kreider, who had his game face on and was trying to will his team to win, didn't want to see that around him. The Rangers won that game and pushed it to a Game 7, which they won to end the series.

The point is that Kreider doesn't tolerate nonsense. There are a lot of distractions and soap opera drama this offseason for the Red Wings. Kreider's voice would have been heard loud and clear if he saw things he didn't like. He has 15 years in the hockey service. 

Kreider is 42 games short of reaching 1,000 career regular-season games. He has 348 goals and 284 assists. The Red Wings missed out on a good veteran player who has scored at least 20 goals in 11 of the past 12 seasons.