Former New York Rangers winger Chris Kreider has agreed to waive his no trade clause in order to facilitate a trade to the Anaheim Ducks.
The deal, which is currently pending completion of a trade call, will see the veteran forward head out west in exchange for prospect Carey Terrance and the swapping of draft picks according to reports.
Anaheim will take on the final two years of Kreider’s contract which comes in at a cap hit of $6.5M per season. New York meanwhile, will look to put the disastrous 2024-25 NHL campaign behind them with additional cap flexibility heading into free agency on July 1st.
Kreider, who scored 22 goals last season, is set to join former teammate Jacob Trouba in Orange County after the blue liner was dealt from the Rangers to the Ducks last season. The 34 year old spent his entire 13-year career with the Rangers, who drafted him in the first round in 2009. He is the Rangers’ all-time playoff leader in goals, power-play goals and game-winning goals.
Anaheim will look to add more veteran depth to their young core as free agency approaches. The club hired former Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville in the offseason, and will be hoping that a few key additions can help them return to the postseason for the first time since 2018.
The Ducks have improved their win total in each of the last 3 seasons (23, 27, 35), culminating in an 80 point effort in 2024-25. Per Spotrac, Anaheim currently projects to have the 3rd most cap space in the league heading into 2025-26 with roughly $32M available. That large figure is why they’re able to take on salary in deals such as Kreider’s and why they’ve been heavily linked to Mitch Marner who figures to be on his way out of Toronto this summer as well.
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