SAD NEWS: New York rangers announced that Artemi Panarin is Leaving immediately after Facing…..

SAD NEWS: New York rangers announced that Artemi Panarin is Leaving immediately after Facing…..

With time to burn, the 34-year-old winger plopped into a chair at the front desk, turned toward the computer and pretended to do administrative work.

As an earlier workout group of NHLers shuffled past, Kreider said hello to Adam Fox and Brett Berard, his now-former New York Rangers teammates.

Much to Kreider’s delight, Berard was wearing a shirt from Boston College, where his brother, Brady Berard, currently plays and where Kreider starred for three years.

They chatted for a moment about the Eagles’ upcoming season.

Relaxing behind the desk, Kreider was home. Comfortable. In a familiar place before a massive change.

Last month, the Rangers sent Kreider — their longest-tenured player — to Anaheim for a third-round pick and prospect Carey Terrance, ending one of the most storied careers in franchise history. New York drafted Kreider with the No. 19 pick in 2009, and he became one of the faces of the team after his splashy debut in the 2012 playoffs. He was the constant from the 2014 team that made the Stanley Cup Final through the rebuilding teams of the 2010s to the return to contention in the 2020s. He’s third in franchise history in goals, tied for first in power play goals and first in playoff goals.

Now, for the first time, he won’t be tipping in pucks for the Rangers. He’s part of another NHL organization, one nearly 3,000 miles away from the only region he’s ever called home. Kreider grew up in the Boston area, played for Boston College and then went to the Rangers. He’s never lived outside of the Northeast.

So how, in this time of transition, is he feeling about everything?

“Good,” he told The Athletic, before laughing. “Bit of a loaded question.”

He’s at least had a bit of time to settle into an answer. Plenty of his former teammates have been dealt in-season. That, Kreider knows, can be a bit of a shock. Since his exit happened over the summer, he’s been able to process the move at his own pace.