Chris Kreider signs off on trade to Ducks in end of an era for Rangers
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Chris Kreider will become the first roster casualty of the Rangers' highly anticipated offseason shakeup.
The longest-tenured Blueshirt, who first ventured to New York for the 2012 NHL playoffs at age 20 fresh off of Boston College's campus, the 34-year-old Kreider has signed off on a trade to the Ducks, The Post's Larry Brooks first reported Thursday.
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Kreider had to approve the trade, as the Ducks were on his 15-team no-trade list.
When the deal is officially executed, the Rangers will receive 20-year-old prospect Casey Terrance, a center Anaheim drafted No. 59 overall in 2023. The Blueshirts might also receive a draft pick in the deal.
The Ducks are taking on all of Kreider's $6.5 million cap hit over the next two seasons, on account of the organization needing to spend more than $14 million this offseason to reach the cap floor.
It's the first time in well over a decade that Kreider won't be a part of the Rangers organization, which selected him 19th overall at the 2009 NHL Draft before bringing him up to make his debut in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Senators in 2012.
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3 The Rangers have traded Chris Kreider to the Ducks.
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
For all the peaks over his 13-season run with the team, however, this past season fell into a valley that the longstanding marriage could not get out of.
Aside from the multitude of injuries Kreider dealt with throughout the 2024-25 campaign, which undoubtedly impacted what was ultimately a career-low performance (in a full 82-game season), the veteran wing was also specifically named in president and general manager Chris Drury's league-wide memo eliciting trade partners in late November.
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There was a palpable disconnect between Kreider and the franchise he's played for his entire career thus far.
As a result, Kreider follows several other former core members — captain Jacob Trouba, alternate captain Barclay Goodrow, second-overall pick Kaapo Kakko, 21st-overall pick Filip Chytil and blueline staple Ryan Lindgren — out the door.
A few familiar faces await the Massachusetts native in Orange County. Kreider will be reunited with Trouba, four-year Ranger Ryan Strome and one-time trade-deadline acquisition Frank Vatrano.
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The legacy he leaves in Manhattan is still an unforgettable one — albeit one without a Stanley Cup.
Kreider, the first recipient of the 'Mr. Ranger' award in April 2022, is perhaps the closest the organization has gotten to the honor's namesake, Rod Gilbert. It's difficult to imagine Kreider in anything other than red, white and blue, which he also wore under new Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan for Team USA at the NHL's 4 Nations Face-off in February.
3 Chris Kreider after his final game as a Ranger on April 17, 2025.
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The two will not get to join forces again, but instead will square off twice in the upcoming regular season as teams in separate conferences.
Despite missing out on a Stanley Cup over his Rangers tenure, which included five trips to the conference final and one to the final in 2014, Kreider is all over the franchise record books.
Not only is he the leading playoff goal scorer of all time with 48, but Kreider's 116 power-play goals are tied for the most. His 50 game-winning goals are good for second, while his 326 total scores are third all time.
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The 883 games he played in a Rangers jersey have him ranked eighth in franchise history.
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And yet, the numbers and records don't quite reflect the weight of Kreider's time with the Rangers. They don't reveal the community impact, the dedication or the countless times he delivered in big moments on the ice.
Kreider is tied with Mark Messier for the most goals in playoff games when facing elimination (16), the most in NHL history.
The extensive work he's done with the Garden of Dreams Foundation — as well as many other charities — is well documented.
3 Chris Kreider (20) checks the Kings' Kyle Clifford (13) during Game 3 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final.
Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
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While it's up for debate if anybody should be allowed to wear Kreider's number again, there will never be another No. 20.
From cleaning up caps off his front lawn following his series-winning natural hat trick in Game 6 of the second round of the 2024 playoffs against the Hurricanes to his departure in a cap-space-clearing move, Kreider left his mark on the New York Rangers.
No matter how it came to an end.
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We look at each other, waiting to see who blinks first. "I mean, you never know." Get exclusive awards season news, in-depth interviews and columnist Glenn Whipp's must-read analysis straight to your inbox. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Solve the daily Crossword
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