Chris Kreider joins Canadiens years after infamous Carey Price collision, but Price already made his feelings

Chris Kreider is heading to Montreal, and for a franchise that spent over a decade booing him every time he touched the Bell Centre ice, that is quite the plot twist.

The Canadiens signed the 35-year-old winger to a one-year contract on Saturday worth $2.15 million guaranteed, with bonuses that could push the total value up to $5.15 million if he hits every incentive.

Kreider became available after he and Anaheim agreed to a mutual contract termination last week, a move general manager Pat Verbeek attributed to the need for salary cap flexibility following the Ducks matching an offer sheet for Leo Carlsson worth $18 million per season.

That left Kreider as one of the more intriguing names on the open market, and Montreal moved fast to bring him in without giving up a single asset.

Martin St. Louis coaches the Canadiens now, and he and Kreider were teammates during their days with the New York Rangers.

That relationship, along with Montreal's growing young core, reportedly played a major role in Kreider choosing the Habs over other suitors.

Kreider scored 22 goals and posted 50 points in 75 games with Anaheim last season, stretching his run of 20-goal campaigns to eight in a row.

Longtime Gazette columnist Stu Cowan broke down the move and what it means for a fan base that has not forgotten the 2014 Eastern Conference final, when Kreider's collision with Carey Price ended the goaltender's playoffs and arguably changed the course of that series.

Price himself addressed the incident in comments to Cowan well before this signing, making clear he never held a grudge over what was an unfortunate, fast-developing play in the heat of a playoff series.

With Kreider now wearing the CH, Canadiens fans may finally be ready to let the old grudge go too.

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