The Anaheim Ducks are in advanced talks in their bid to acquire veteran forward Chris Kreider from the New York Rangers, the Daily Faceoff reported.
Per the report, there was “mutual interest” between the teams and the “framework of a deal in place.”
Kreider, 34, is entering the sixth season of a seven-year, $45.5 million contract with an annual cap hit of $6.5 million. The Massachusetts native is slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2027.
Kreider and then-Rangers captain Jacob Trouba were made available on the trade market earlier this season following a league-wide memo from New York general manager Chris Drury. The Ducks then acquired Trouba on Dec. 6 for defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Kreider recorded just 30 points (22 goals, eight assists) in 68 games this season while nursing both back spasms and an illness.
Earlier, he discussed his desire to stay in New York.
“I mean, this is home for me,” Kreider said in late April, per the New York Post. “This is the organization that gave me an opportunity to live out my dream. I’ve developed so many incredible relationships and grown up and spent so much time in this area. So, obviously, this is where I want to be and this is the group I want to help in whatever fashion and win hockey games.”
The franchise’s third all-time leading goal scorer (326), Kreider also has 256 assists for 582 points in 883 career games since the Rangers selected him with the 19th overall pick of the 2009 NHL Draft.
–Field Level Media
