Ex-Rangers star Chris Kreider shares ‘awful’ reason he missed 4 Ducks games
Chris Kreider might be cornering the market on unique reasons to miss NHL games. After a bout of vertigo sidelined the former New York Rangers forward last season, Kreider missed four games this past week with an even stranger malady.
The 34-year-old, who was traded to the Anaheim Ducks this past offseason, revealed Thursday that he had hand, foot, and mouth disease, and was quarantined in a hotel room for several days.
“Not pleasant at all. No, it was terrible,” Kreider told reporters after returning to practice with Ducks. “And obviously they didn’t want to give anyone on the team that, so I was locked in the hotel room for a few days. It’s awful. I don’t recommend it.”
Per the Mayo Clinic website, this disease is a “mild illness caused by viruses,” typically spread through air-born transmission. Symptoms include rashes on the hands and feet, as well as sores on and in the mouth.
Kreider’s been through the wringer the past year. He also missed games last season with a back injury and a broken hand, though the vertigo illness stood out
“Just a bunch or weird, fluky things this year,” Kreider said at Rangers breakup day in April. “The first half of the year trying to get my back figured out. Then when I got that figured out, I got a weird illness coming out of Christmas break that got into my inner ear, which I don’t recommend. And then finally when I felt like I was getting a little rhythm, getting traction, getting healthy, back felt good, I mess up my hand.
“Yeah, it was challenging.”
On top of that, Kreider’s name was leaked in a trade memo Rangers general manager Chris Drury that was sent to the other 31 GMs in the League. Suboptimal season, for sure.
Former Rangers star Chris Kreider set for return to Ducks lineup after bizarre illness
But it appears even a fresh start in SoCal can’t help Kreider stay out of harm’s way. He played just five games with the Ducks, and had four goals and one assist, before being felled by the hand, foot, and mouth disease.
Kreider’s strong start with his new team came at a time when his former club struggled mightily to do what he does best: put the puck in the net. The Rangers average 2.36 goals scored per game, second-lowest in the NHL.
Even though he dropped off to 22 goals last after scoring 39 in 2023-24, Kreider is one of the best net-front forwards in the League — and a real threat on the power play. He has 330 goals in the NHL, including 326 with the Rangers, third-most in franchise history. His 116 power-play goals with the Rangers are tied for first all-time, six ahead of current Blueshirts forward Mika Zibanejad, Kreider’s best friend on the club.
To their credit, the Ducks were 3-1-0 without Kreider in the lineup, including a 3-2 shootout win against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday. It’s expected that Kreider will return Friday for a home game against the Detroit Red Wings.
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