Ducks acquire Kreider from Rangers for prospect, pick swap
Published
The Anaheim Ducks have acquired veteran forward Chris Kreider from the New York Rangers in exchange for prospect Carey Terrance.
The two sides spent the past two days engaged in trade talks, but the deal had hinged on Kreider waiving his no-trade clause, which had the Ducks among the 16 teams listed. The deal also includes the Rangers are acquiring a third-round pick while sending a fourth-rounder back to the Ducks, moving up a total of 15 draft slots this year.
"We want to thank Chris Kreider for all of his contributions to the Rangers organization over his stellar career," Rangers general manager Chris Drury said. "Chris has been an integral part of some of the most iconic moments in Rangers history, including setting multiple franchise records and helping the team advance to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final. His leadership on the ice and tireless efforts in the community - which he was recognized for as the inaugural recipient of the Rod Gilbert "Mr. Ranger" Award - only add to his distinguished Rangers legacy. Chris will always be a Ranger and we wish him and his family all the best.”
Kreider, 34, had 22 goals and 30 points in 68 games with the Rangers last season.
The 6-foot-3 winger is entering the sixth season of a seven-year, $45 million deal with an annual cap hit of $6.5 million. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2026-27 campaign.
“Chris Kreider is the type of player we were looking to add this offseason,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said. “He has size, speed and is a clutch performer that elevates his game in big moments. Chris also upgrades both of our special teams units, something we really needed to address.”
Terrance was a second-round pick of the Ducks in the 2023 draft, The 20-year-old centre posted 20 goals and 39 points in 45 games with the Erie Otters this season. He added two goals in seven games with Team USA at the world juniors earlier this year.
Moving Kreider will leave the Rangers with 14.9 million in cap space to use this summer, with 18 players under contract for next season. The team has seven pending restricted free agents in need of new deals, a list that includes K'Andre Miller, Arthur Kaliyev, Will Cuylle and Matt Rempe.
Kreider joins Trouba in Anaheim
The Rangers and Ducks connected on a deal in December with Jacob Trouba, who was at that time the team's captain, heading to Anaheim for defenceman Urho Vaakanainen and a fourth-round pick. That deal came after Drury sent a memo around the league that Trouba and Kreider were both available on the trade market.
New York went into a tailspin at the same time the memo became public, with the team seeing their record plummet from 12-4-1 on Nov. 19 to 16-19-1 on Dec. 30. The Rangers were unable to recover from the ugly stretch and finished with a 39-36-7 record to miss the playoffs for the first time for 2021. Head coach Peter Laviolette was fired following the season, with two-time Stanley Cup winner Mike Sullivan entering his first year with the team.
TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger noted Wednesday that Kreider would be a fit under new Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville. Anaheim has missed the playoffs in each of the past seven seasons and will be looking to take a step forward after finishing with 80 points in 82 games this season.
Kreider has played his entire 13-season career with the Rangers and helped the team win two division titles and two Presidents’ Trophies in 2015 and 2024, as well as a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2014.
Drafted 19th overall by the Rangers in 2009, Kreider has 326 goals and 582 points in 883 career games.
The Boxford, Mass., native represented the United States four times at the World Championship, taking home a bronze medal in 2018. He also represented his country at this season’s 4-Nations Face-Off.