Are the Anaheim Ducks beginning their off-season acquisitions ahead of schedule?
Reports suggest the Anaheim Ducks are in advanced negotiations with the New York Rangers regarding a trade that would see experienced forward Chris Kreider join Anaheim, as per information from Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.
According to Seravalli, a formal agreement was not reached by Tuesday night, but discussions involved a potential trade structure primarily focused on forward prospect Carey Terrance.
Sources at Sportsnet have verified that further details concerning the transaction are expected to be available on Wednesday morning.
Terrance was selected by the Ducks in the second round of the 2023 draft. In the most recent season, he recorded 20 goals and 39 points in 45 games while playing for the Erie Otters in the OHL.
Over his 13 seasons with the Rangers, Kreider has established himself as a remarkably consistent goal scorer in the NHL. He has scored 20 or more goals in seven consecutive seasons and in 10 out of the past 11.
During the 2024-25 season, the 34-year-old forward tallied 22 goals and added eight assists in 68 games, a season where New York failed to make the playoffs. Kreider was sidelined for a period during the regular season because of an upper-body injury.
Entering the 2025-26 season, Kreider is in the sixth year of the seven-year, $45.5 million contract he signed in 2020. This contract has an average annual value of $6.5 million.
Seravalli indicated that the Ducks are anticipated to assume the entirety of Kreider`s remaining contract.
His most productive season was in 2021-22, when the left winger scored 52 goals in 81 contests.
Kreider was originally selected 19th overall by the Rangers in the 2009 draft from Boston College and first played in the NHL during the 2012-13 season.
He would contribute 123 games of playoff experience to a youthful Ducks roster, having participated in the Stanley Cup playoffs with New York in 10 different seasons. Across these post-season appearances, Kreider has accumulated 48 goals and 76 points. Notably, he scored five goals during New York`s run to the Stanley Cup Final in the 2013-14 season.
Anaheim concluded the 2024-25 season having missed the playoffs, finishing with 80 points. In early May, the team appointed Joel Quenneville as the 12th head coach in franchise history.
The Ducks possess a young corps of forwards, including players such as Mason McTavish, Leo Carlsson, and Cutter Gauthier – each of whom surpassed the 20-goal mark last season.