It's been an offseason full of questions after Chris Kreider's New York Rangers were eliminated in the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs — and the veteran forward is still feeling the heartbreak of the team's defeat to the New Jersey Devils this past spring.

“Like every guy on the team, I've got a pit in my stomach still and I expect that to turn into a bit of a chip on everyone's shoulders,” Kreider said this week, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen.

“We thought we had a good group. I still think we had a good group and we should have done better. We all know that.”

The Rangers opened up a 2-0 series lead and had an opportunity to take a stranglehold in overtime of Game 3, but ended up losing four of the next five to their Metropolitan Division rivals.

The Blueshirts were expected to make a deep run, especially with the additions of Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane. But after failing to advance one season after reaching the Eastern Conference Final, Gerard Gallant was fired and Peter Laviolette chosen as his replacement.

“My impression is that his teams have always been very hard to play against,” Kreider said about his new coach. “I recently remember the Washington team, but even with some of those Nashville teams, incredibly hard to play against.”

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Kreider is hopeful that the new voice behind the bench will help the team rebound in 2023-24.

“I don't think that should go away,” he explained about the pain from how last season ended. “I think it should be something that drives you.”

Rangers GM Chris Drury was relatively busy in the offseason, bringing in Blake Wheeler, Nick Bonino, Erik Gustafsson, and Jonathan Quick on one-year deals in free agency.

For Chris Kreider and New York, the hope is that the changes, coupled with a desire to avenge last year's early exit, will motivate the Rangers next season.

That will begin in September when the team opens training camp under Laviolette. Although it will take time for the roster to learn a new coaching style, it will ideally help bring the team playoff success in 2024.