Chris Kreider, Being Worth It, and Forgiveness
"My mind is tangled up around somebody else
My friends try and help
They keep telling me that
The best revenge is living well"
He has to know, right?
It was 12 years ago last spring when the Canadiens and Rangers met in the Eastern Conference final. In game one, Chris Kreider was on a breakaway when Habs' defenseman Alexei Emelin tripped him from behind. Kreider fell funny. He went skate-first into the guy responsible for getting the Canadiens to that point. Carey Price went down, left the game, and the Habs' season was effectively over.
Ten seasons have passed since then. Kreider has played at least one game at the Bell Centre every year since 2014 with the only exception being the all-Canadian division season. He has undoubtedly heard the boos whenever he was introduced in the starting lineup or whenever he had the misfortune of touching the puck. The only time a cheer was related to Kreider at the Bell Centre was when Price put him on his back behind the Habs net. To this day, that clip is the closest anyone has come to feeling retribution for what happened in 2014.
So Kreider has to know, right?
He has to know the range of Habs' fan sentiment towards him goes from bloodthirsty disdain up to general ickiness, yes? He has to know that his introduction in a Canadiens' sweater will be awkward at best. He has to know what his name means in this fan base and that it is usually preceded by an expletive.
So like... What is he doing here?
Montreal is a market worth playing in
He has to see what he's signing up for and he's taking a pay cut to do it. He was owed $4 million in salary from the Anaheim Ducks when he decided he was cool being paid none of it for the right to leave. There had to be other suitors. I thought he had Boston Bruin written all over him. They could have paid him the $4 million he would have made this year and he would have fit in there like a pig in shit.
There were probably a few teams willing to pay the 35 year-old a pretty decent penny to come in, put up 20 goals, and become a free agent again next summer.
But for some reason, he chose Montreal. And not only that, he's making just over half of what he would have made this year had he told Pat Verbeek to kick rocks and honor his contract. We know coming back to the East Coast was important to Kreider, but there are plenty of other teams on the East who probably would have wanted a piece of this action. Kreider picked Montreal and all that means; not only as a market for all hockey players, but for himself specifically. If that isn't an endorsement of what the Canadiens are doing, I don't know what is.
Sure, he has connections to Marty St. Louis and Jeff Gorton, but lots of players are connected to those guys. They've been in the game for over 20 years. Those connections haven't mattered yet. Montreal being able to convince Kreider, a player who is almost universally despised in this city, to sign here is noteworthy for both the player and the team. Kreider willingly diving headfirst into this storm is oddly endearing to me. He might win some people over, but there will be some who take this to his grave. Signing up for that? You must be nuts, really love this opportunity, or perhaps a bit of both. And for the Canadiens, convincing the most despised player in recent history to sign here is impressive. If they can convince him of all people to play here, who else can they get?
And while the Habs were able to convince Kreider to take millions of dollars to come play in Montreal, I assume it will be much harder to convince you, the Habs fan, to accept this arrangement.
I'm going to try anyway.
Forgiveness in sports
The Montreal Canadiens will be in Toronto the weekend Carey Price is inducted into the Hall of Fame. They are not playing in the Hall of Fame game, but they'll be there. Montreal plays the Leafs on Saturday, November 7th, the Leafs play the Devils the following night in the Hall of Fame game, and Montreal is off that night. I have to imagine the Canadiens will stick around for that moment. Chris Kreider might even be there. Price will be the first player inducted into the Hall of Fame only having played games for the Habs since Bob Gainey in 1992.
Carey Price will walk out at center ice and will probably be booed since it's Toronto and they will likely already be warmed up after booing Patrice Bergeron. That booing will be the ultimate sign of respect from a fan base who was sick of seeing these guys and the teams they played for.
In that moment, Price will be recognized as an immortal Montreal Canadien and one of the greatest the sport has ever known. He is at peace with how his career ended and holds no animosity towards Kreider for what happened in 2014. If you are still mad at Kreider, it should not be on the behalf of Carey Price. Price has the capacity to harbor that resentment and has decided to move on. If you are still mad at Kreider, it is because you want to be mad at Kreider. You are mad him not for something he took from someone else, but for thinking he took something from you. I'm not here to tell you that feeling is wrong, but that feeling is uniquely yours. That makes forgiveness easier and more personal. Because you are not forgiving someone for something they did to someone else and are instead forgiving them for how they made you feel, you are going to reap the benefits of that.
And yes, I understand how silly all of this sounds. The concept of forgiving someone who doesn't know you exist sounds actually insane, but that's sports.
The most common misconception about forgiveness is that it is given for the benefit of the transgressor. It's not; it's for you. Living with grudges isn't all that fun. Sometimes it is. Like just a few days ago when Kreider wasn't a Montreal Canadien. It was fun to hate him. That's what makes sports fun. I hope he gets a bit of boos at the home opener, he laughs at the awkwardness of the moment, and then we all move on. I think that's pretty likely.
Freeing yourself of that grudge to aid in your enjoyment of this team is entirely reasonable. That's what I'll be doing. If you can hold onto that grudge from now through July 1st, more power to you. I know I cannot. In the grand scheme of things, what happened is not all that deep. Price never got a cup, but with Marc Bergevin at the helm, that was probably never going to happen anyway.
Even without that cup, Carey Price is going into the Hall of Fame.
There, he will undoubtedly be safe from Chris Kreider.
(See, we can still rip on him a little)