It's a day that's been talked about, but a day that not really anybody thought would actually come — Chris Kreider is likely being traded away.
The New York Rangers are in advanced talks to trade the Rangers' longest-tenured player on their roster to the Anaheim Ducks. Though, a deal is not yet completed and discussions are expected to continue on Wednesday. It is suspected that the potential trade would send a prospect and a draft pick from Anaheim, while the Ducks would cover Kreider’s $6.5 million average annual value. National Hockey League insider Frank Seravalli made the initial report on Tuesday.
Sources say #NYR and #NHLDucks are in advanced discussions on a deal that would send Chris Kreider to Orange County.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) June 11, 2025
No semantics: there is NO DEAL at this moment in time.
But there is interest - and a framework. Both teams had other irons in the fire today. We'll see on Wed.
If Chris Kreider does say farewell to the Blueshirts, he's certainly accomplished a lot along the way and deserves to be forever known as a Rangers' legend. Here's why.
Chris Kreider's Accomplishments
Christopher James Kreider started his career in 2012 as he signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Rangers on April 10, 2012. His signing came after he played for Boston College for three years and helped them to two NCAA titles.
Kreider then quickly became the youngest player to score two points in a playoff game since 1996 and the first rookie to register a multi-point game in the postseason since 2008. He holds the franchise record for playoff goals with 48 and was the 12th Rangers player to ever reach 500 career points.
Kreider's Rangers' ledger includes him recording 326 goals, 256 assists, and 582 points in 883 regular season games. He also appeared in 123 playoff games and added 48 goals and 28 assists for 76 points. In terms of his performance as a Ranger, Kreider ranked 3rd in goals, 10th in points, 8th in games played, and tied for 1st in power play goals.
In the playoffs Kreider's 123 games are most among skaters, he ranks 1st in goals, and 3rd in points. He also scored 16 goals in 30 games in which Kreider and the Rangers potentially faced elimination, and that ties him with Mark Messier for the most in NHL history.
In April of 2022, the Boston native was honored with the first-ever Rod Gilbert "Mr. Ranger" award. The accolade recognizes the Rangers player "who best honors Rod's legacy by exemplifying leadership qualities both on and off the ice and making a significant humanitarian contribution to his community.
For those who are happy to be gone away with Kreider, let us not forget that one of his more memorable moments occurred as recently as May of 2024 — the Rangers were down 3-1 to Carolina a quarter of the way into the third period of Game 6 of the second round, that game having been preceded by two consecutive losses after having led the series 3-0. Kreider decided that the Rangers would not be losing and recorded a miraculous natural third period hat trick to clinch the series and send the Rangers on their way to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in three years.
He also scored a game-tying goal all the way back in Game 5 of the 2015 Eastern Conference Semifinals, a series the Rangers rallied to win in 7 games before getting eliminated in the next round by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Another recent accomplishment is the fact that Kreider was a part of a Blueshirt squad that earned the Presidents' Trophy twice, once in 2014-15, and again during the 2023-2024 season.
Unfortunately for Kreider, his legendary career has been overshadowed as of late by him underdelivering throughout the 2024-25 season. Back spasms and an illness/vertigo limited Kreider to 68 games in 2024-25. His 30 points (22 goals, eight assists) marked his lowest season output since the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign.
That aside, you can't talk about the history of the New York Rangers without Chris Kreider, and he was a very important Ranger who will forever remain a big part of the franchise's modern history.