The New York Rangers said goodbye to a variety of different players over the years, whether they were team captains or franchise cornerstones. When it comes to the latter, Chris Kreider fit the bill. After the 2024-25 season, general manager Chris Drury continued his roster purge to free up cap space, and Kreider was one of them, as he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks. After just one season, Kreider is already on the move.
Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported that the Ducks plan to place Kreider on waivers for the purpose of contract termination, which would then make him an unrestricted free agent. Friedman reports that Kreider is only interested in joining a team on the East coast to be closer to his family.
Of course, this caused eyebrows to raise in New York. Could it be possible that the Rangers end up bringing Kreider back? For those fans hoping for that to happen, you better take a seat.
Rangers fans hoping for Chris Kreider reunion need to brace for reality
Sure, Kreider was a frustrating player at times during his 14 season tenure with the Rangers, but he brought the franchise plenty of moments, such as breaking the franchise record for most playoff goals (48) and placing third all-time in regular season goals (326). Let's not forget three trips to the Eastern Conference Finals and one trip to the Stanley Cup Final.
But for fans hoping that the Rangers could find a way to fit him onto the roster, that doesn't look to be happening.
First things first, there is the Drury factor. It's not known if the bridge was completely burned by Drury to ruin any chance of a reunion. However, Drury has a track record of not moving on from players in the best of terms. Look no further than Barclay Goodrow and Jacob Trouba, both of whom publicly denounced Drury's methods of getting their contracts off the books.
This offseason, it was well known that the Rangers were looking to add another forward. If the Ducks had planned on terminating Kreider's contract, would the Rangers have pivoted? We'll never know. What we do know is that the Rangers played the waiting game and managed to bring in Seattle Kraken winger Eeli Tolvanen on a one-year, $1.5 million contract. Tolvanen was considered one of the best forwards available in free agency after the surge of signings took place shortly after July 1. With that, the Rangers are virtually set at wing with Tolvanen, Alexis Lafreniere, Pavel Dorofeyev, Gabe Perreault, and Oliver Bjorkstrand in the top nine.
Even if the Rangers were thinking about potentially adding Kreider to be a long-shot center, which he has played during his career, that wouldn't happen either. Why? The Rangers don't have the cap space to fit anyone else on the roster. According to PuckPedia, the Rangers have just $995,000 in cap space. Unless Kreider is signing for the $850,000 minimum salary, the Rangers simply aren't going to be in the running for him.
These 3 teams make more sense for Chris Kreider than Rangers
If Kreider isn't returning to the Rangers, where would he fit? Three teams make sense for Kreider, all of whom are playoff teams. Those teams are the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, and Buffalo Sabres.
The Flyers would be ironic, considering they are the reason why the Ducks had to terminate Kreider's contract. The Flyers signed Ducks center Leo Carlsson to a five-year, $90 million offer sheet, which would have made him the highest paid player in hockey at the time. The Ducks matched the offer instead of passing and taking the Flyers' four first-round picks. But with this move, the Ducks still had to negotiate a new deal with Cutter Gauthier, who had a career-best 41 goals last season. Kreider was mentioned as a potential cut to fit Gauthier's new contract. The Flyers could use another forward to help them in their push to win a Stanley Cup. They also have $13.78 million in cap space.
The Bruins make sense not only because they were a playoff team last season and could stand to add some more forwards to contend in an extremely loaded Atlantic Division. Boston would be a homecoming for Kreider, as he grew up in Massachusetts and played for Boston College. The signing makes too much sense for both parties.
Then there are the Sabres, who shocked the world last season by not only breaking their 14-season playoff drought, but also winning the Atlantic Division title. They lost in the second round of the playoffs, and this offseason, and they moved on from winger Alex Tuch after it became known he was not going to re-sign with them. The Sabres didn't make a move to replace Tuch. Kreider would be a solid replacement for Tuch, and it would give the former Ranger a chance to contend for the Stanley Cup.
While it would be great to see Kreider suit up for the Rangers once again, it's just not in the cards. Expect to see Kreider on another Eastern Conference team heading into next season.
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