Kreider seeing best in ‘Z’ deal

WHEN RANGERS GM Jeff Gorton dealt Derick Brassard to the Senators for Mika Zibanejad on July 18 in an exhange of centers, he traded away a skilled 28-year-old popular among his teammates.

The trade freed up cap space and got the Rangers a younger player with potential to grow, but Brassard’s presence will be missed in their locker room.

“Any time there’s a trade like that initially it can be a little bit tough,” Kreider said on NHL Network Monday night. “Brass is such an amicable guy and so well-liked in our room, so it’s hard to see such a great guy go, but obviously he’ll have a ton of success in Ottawa and they’re very lucky to get a guy like that.

“In the same token, we’re definitely getting back a very capable player, a very young player. Big, strong, fast, really wellrounded considering he’s 23 years old . ... I think it’s a great trade for both teams.”

Brassard joins Keith Yandle, Dan Boyle, Eric Staal, Dominic Moore and Viktor Stalberg, who will not return to the Blueshirts after their first-round exit to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Penguins. Significant changes were expected after they were dominated by the Penguins in Games 4 and 5, during which Henrik Lundqvist was pulled in each game with nothing but chaos in front of him.

“I think coming off of a 100-point season sometimes it’s hard to criticize some of the things you did over the course of the year,” Kreider told the network. “I definitely think that we were inconsistent at times and our goalie bailed us out and we had a few individual performances that bailed us out. I think if you asked anyone, they’d say that. On a nightly basis, I think it just comes down to guys getting better over the summer and coming back with a chip on their shoulder.”

Kreider said improving for him individually is getting to the net on a consistent basis. That will be a major part of the expectations for Kreider, who was a restricted free agent and avoided arbitration Friday by agreeing to a four-year, $18.5 million contract.

“I think anytime you can avoid arbitration that’s probably good for both parties,” Kreider said. “Certainly a weight off my chest knowing that I didn’t have to go through that. It gave me the opportunity to head home to Boston for the weekend a little earlier. All in all it was a good morning.”