Rangers counting on Will Cuylle to fill void after Chris Kreider trade

When the Rangers take the ice on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden against the Pittsburgh Penguins to open their 2025-26 season, they’ll look a little different. But it won’t just be because they’ll be wearing special Centennial uniforms, commemorating the franchise’s 100 years   in the NHL.

They’ll also look different because for the first time since 2013 — they won’t have Chris Kreider on their roster.

Kreider, the franchise’s all-time leader in playoff goals, co-leader in regular-season power-play goals, and third-leading all-time regular season goalscorer, was traded over the summer to the Anaheim Ducks, marking the end of an era.

In his place as the left wing on the Rangers’ top forward line will be 23-year-old Will Cuylle, a laid-back, third-year player who seems unfazed by the prospect of replacing a franchise icon.

“I don't really feel like it's a ton of pressure,’’ Cuylle said when asked about the job of filling Kreider’s skates. “I kind of try to just go and play my game. I feel like we're athletes; it's kind of our job to be able to play under pressure and perform under pressure.

“So for me personally, I look at it more as a positive opportunity, and I’m just looking forward to getting going.’’

Despite a similar build, Cuylle, who is 6-3, 220, is not an exact replica of Kreider, who’s 6-3, 232. Cuylle is much more physical — he set a franchise record for hits last season with 301 — and he isn’t the speed burner Kreider is.

“They’re totally different players,’’ said Vincent Trocheck, with whom Cuylle lived during his rookie season of 2022-23.

But, like Kreider, Cuylle kills penalties, and scores a lot of goals around the front of the net.

A second-round pick in the 2020 draft, Cuylle had a nice rookie season in ’22-23, scoring 13 goals with 21 points in 81 games, and he built on that in his second season, scoring 25 goals with 45 points in 82 games. And when the Rangers failed to make the playoffs, he got called up to play for Canada in the World Championships. It was his first time playing for Canada since the World Juniors in 2021-22.

“It was a fun experience,’’ Cuylle said of playing on a Canada team that had on it the likes of Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon. “I mean, to meet a lot of those guys that I grew up watching on the TV, it was pretty cool.’’

While on Team Canada, Cuylle got the chance to ask Crosby about his new coach, Mike Sullivan, who’d been Crosby’s coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins for 10 years.

“He said [Sullivan]'s exactly what everyone kind of already says, like a no BS kind of guy, just intense, honest,’’ Cuylle said. “He wants a hard working game, and has very high expectation for that. So, you know, if you're a hard-working, straightforward player that plays an honest game, they say he'll like you.’’

Hardworking, straightforward and plays an honest game describes Cuylle to a ‘T.’ And Sullivan does indeed like him.

“He's a real good, north-south, up-and-down, power forward,’’ Sullivan said. “He brings a physical edge to his game, is really good on the forecheck, has decent puck skills and goes to the net. His game is straightforward and simple, but very effective at the same time. He's not easy to play against.’’

Against the Penguins Tuesday, Cuylle will start out on a line with captain J.T. Miller (assuming back from injury) and Mika Zibanejad, a pair of 32-year-olds from whom he’s learning a lot, he said. But he said he won’t defer to the two veterans, and insists, with confidence, that he’s just going to play his game.

“I think at the end of the day, it's still the same game,’’ he said. “You're still trying to put the puck in the net, play good defense. And like I've always said, I just try to play the same game, no matter what line I'm playing on. I think that's kind of how I've found success in my career, just kind of staying true to my style and my type of game.’’

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.