NHL trade grades: Rangers needed to unload Chris Kreider to move forward
By Shayna Goldman, Harman Dayal and Corey Pronman
Anaheim Ducks get: F Chris Kreider, 2025 fourth-round draft pick (No. 104).
New York Rangers get: Prospect F Carey Terrance (OHL Erie), 2025 third-round draft pick (No. 89)
(No salary was retained on either side.)
Harman Dayal: At first glance, trading away a popular, assumed-Ranger-for-life for a modest return isn't anything worth celebrating. If anything, losing Kreider is a painful, emotional goodbye for Rangers fans.
However, the Rangers' cap situation was dire before this trade, and moving the full freight of Kreider's $6.5 million cap hit, especially coming off a down year, opens up much-needed breathing room.
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Before the Kreider trade, New York only had $8.4 million of cap space, according to PuckPedia. The Rangers needed to move out at least one significant contract just to afford pending restricted free agents K'Andre Miller and Will Cuylle's next contracts (or to find a top-four replacement in the event Miller is traded), let alone any roster upgrades for a team that missed the playoffs. There weren't a ton of options to manufacture that cap space — many of New York's top players have trade protection — so getting Kreider off the books was important.
It's a win that the Rangers got off Kreider's contract without having to retain salary, take money back or pay a sweetener. Kreider's obviously a highly accomplished player, but at 34 years old, coming off a 30-point season in which he played through back issues and illness, this didn't profile as an easy contract to trade. And let's not forget that teams weren't exactly jumping to bid for his services back in November when Chris Drury sent out a memo to the league's 31 other teams stating both Kreider and Jacob Trouba were available for trade.
The Ducks need a healthier, rejuvenated version of Kreider to make this trade worth it. The biggest area where Kreider could help the Ducks is on the power play. Kreider has long been an elite net-front power-play scorer, and the Ducks' man advantage could certainly use a boost after ranking 32nd in the NHL this season.
It isn't farfetched to think he could deliver 25 to 30 goals in 2025-26 if he rebounds. But given his age, there's always a chance that he never regains the top-six form he showed in previous years. That would be a scary thought, especially because his even-strength play-driving also fell considerably this season.
With all that said, Anaheim's risk isn't too high here. The Ducks didn't surrender any premium assets, Kreider only has two years left on his deal and the Ducks still have more than $30 million in cap space this offseason.
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Rangers grade: B+
Ducks grade: B
Shayna Goldman: It's the end of an era in New York, with the Rangers trading one of their longest tenured players to Anaheim. The reality is that Kreider's value cratered over the last year. He still scored 22 goals, but only tallied eight assists in 68 games for a career-low 30 points — and it's not just because his linemates weren't converting on his passes. One of Kreider's strengths is that he is more than just an elite net-front presence on the power play. His speed and strength make him more of a threat at five-on-five. But this past year, he wasn't as effective off the rush and didn't drive to the net as often. Unlike in most seasons, there wasn't a lot of power-play production to make up for it.
The problem is, it's not clear how much of that was due to his surroundings, age-related decline or a lingering back injury. Or whether that injury is exacerbating the aging effects, which can happen to players who take a lot of wear and tear in a net-front role.
The Rangers have to be active this summer. The team can't afford to just run it back and hope for a bunch of rebounds after a disastrous 2024-25 season. One takeaway from the four teams that reached the conference finals this year is that general managers need to know when it's time to move on and start fresh, despite long-term connections to a player. Plus, Rangers management couldn't afford to extend key RFAs and improve with Kreider's contract on the books. So, clearing out his entire cap hit is a win for New York.
The timing is interesting. The Rangers could have waited to see if there was interest from teams that missed out on the few high-end wingers set to hit the free-agent market. Maybe management didn't want any lingering questions this offseason and wanted a clean slate. But at what cost? Unless the team has corresponding moves in mind to add more high-end talent, then this was the first domino that had to fall to create space.
The Ducks, on the other hand, have a ton of cap space, and management should leverage it to take on reclamation projects such as Kreider. Absorbing his $6.5 million cap hit won't stop management from taking big swings this summer. And it shouldn't be a problem next year, either, with $12 million coming off the books between Jacob Trouba and Radko Gudas. By the time the Ducks are truly competitive again, this contract will be over — and until then, it'll help the team stay above the cap floor.
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Between Kreider, Trouba, Frank Vatrano and Ryan Strome, there's a lot of 2021-22 Rangers, which is a choice. But as long as Kreider doesn't take away meaningful minutes from up-and-coming players and provides some much-needed support at even strength and on the power play, this is fine for the Ducks.
Rangers grade: B-
Ducks grade: B
Corey Pronman: Kreider's game fell off notably this season, but he's still a useful forward. He's a big-bodied winger who skates very well, plays hard, and has some scoring touch. He's never been the most natural playmaker, and there's always a worry that, with a speed-based player, when the end of his career comes, it can come to an abrupt stop. Anaheim has money to play with, and their exceptionally young lineup can use a veteran like Kreider. They also have a deep prospect system, so losing Terrance is tolerable.
Terrance is a strong skating forward. He has the edge work and speed for higher levels and can skate by junior defenders routinely. He has good hands and can create offense off the rush. I don't think his vision is a selling point, and he's more of a goal-scorer, but Terrance makes enough plays. His compete is solid and he can kill penalties. Terrance won't ever stand out in any one area, but he has versatility in his style of play and in the fact that he can play center or wing. He could be a bottom-six forward. He's not the biggest coup ever, but this is essentially a salary dump for New York.
Rangers grade: B-
Ducks grade: B+
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