The Anaheim Ducks got a jump start on their offseason transactions on Wednesday when a trade was finalized, sending long-time New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider to Orange County.

A reported framework was agreed upon late Tuesday evening involving a swap of Kreider (34) and prospect Carey Terrance (20), with details fleshed out on Thursday.

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TRADE DETAILS:

To Anaheim: Chris Kreider, 2025 Fourth Round Pick

To New York: Carey Terrance, 2025 Third Round Pick

Kreider is a 13-year NHL veteran, a two-time All-Star (2020, 2022), a two-time NCAA champion (2010, 2012), and a World Junior Championship gold medalist (2010). In the 99-year history of the Rangers franchise, Kreider sits third all-time in goals (326), first in playoff goals (48), tied for first in power play goals (116), eighth in games played (883), and tenth in points (582).

Following his three most productive and healthy seasons in 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24 in which he scored 206 points (127-79=206) in 243 games, he found himself dealing with a myriad of health issues in 2024-25, which led to his lowest per-game production level since his rookie season.

Kreider tallied just 30 points (22-8=30) in 68 regular season games in 2024-25 while dealing with back spasms, an inner-ear illness which led to spells of vertigo, a hand injury, and the emotional weight of being included in a league-wide memo sent out by Rangers general manager Chris Drury stating Kreider’s (along with former Rangers captain and current Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba’s) potential availability via trade.

Kreider has played with several players on the current Ducks roster, including Trouba, Ryan Strome, and Frank Vatrano from their time on the Rangers. He’s also close with Ducks forward Trevor Zegras, whom he’s known for over a decade.

Kreider and Zegras headline the annual “Shoulder Check Showcase” in Samford, CT, a mental health initiative created around the tragic passing of 16-year-old Mid-Fairfield and Derien High School youth goaltender Hayden Thorsen.

“Oh, geez, like too long. Too long, maybe ten years,” Zegras said when asked in September about how long he’s known Kreider, personally. “Me and Kreids have been working out together in New York since I was, I don’t even know, 10, 11, 12 years old. Whenever I first started training, and (I) got to know him more as I got older and kind of climbed the ranks in hockey.

“The kid that we do the charity for, Hayden Thorsen, he was a local kid that played for Mid-Fairfield, worked out in our gym. So, they came to me and Kreids and asked if this would be something that we’d be willing to do, and support the cause and spread awareness for Hayden and his family, and it seemed like a no-brainer.

“Kreids is such a good human being that he felt the same way, and I’m very fortunate to do it with him.”

Kreider has two years remaining on his contract, which carries an AAV of $6.5 million and a 15-team no-trade clause. It’s been reported that Anaheim was on Kreider’s no-trade list, and he waived his clause to help facilitate this trade.

Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek has stated his desire to add goalscoring to the depth chart this offseason to fill what he felt was the team’s biggest need. Kreider has averaged 30 goals per 82 games throughout his career, with the high-water mark being in 2021-22, when he potted 52.

Kreider will likely boost the Ducks power play, which sat at a league-worst 11.8% in 2024-25 and hasn’t eclipsed the 20% mark since 2021-22 (21.9%).

Going the Rangers’ way in this deal is former second-round pick Carey Terrance (59th overall in 2023). Terrance had signed his entry-level contract with the Ducks a mere two months ago, following his fourth OHL season, where he captained the Erie Otters, but sustained a broken collarbone and was forced to miss the final stretch of the season and playoffs.

Terrance is a versatile, hard-working, two-way center who scored 39 points (20-19=39) in 45 games in 2024-25 prior to his injury. He won back-to-back gold medals as a member of the United States squad at the World Junior Championship in 2024 and 2025. He didn’t find his way into a lineup in the 2024 tournament, but scored two goals in seven games in 2025.

The Ducks now have a full top-nine forward group and the possibility is present of 2024 third-overall pick Beckett Sennecke set to push for a spot within that unit. If the Ducks intend to add even more talent to that lineup, they’ll either have to make other deals or ask a player or two to assume a role beneath where they’ve been playing for the last number of seasons. Either way, that seems a bridge to cross when the team eventually arrives there.

This trade marks the first move in what’s set to be an aggressive summer for Verbeek and the Ducks as they look to put the finishing touches on their elongated rebuild and compete for a playoff spot in 2025-26.

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Photo Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images