The 2026-27 NHL Regular Season kicks off in just 16 days for the Boston Bruins, when they take on the New York Rangers on the opening night of the NHL season.
After days of wild speculation about a potential homecoming in Massachusetts, the Bruins officially missed out on adding two-time all-star Chris Kreider.
Kreider signed with arch-rival the Montreal Canadiens, further strengthening the emerging juggernaut north of the border.
Kreider, 35, posted 22 goals and 50 points in 78 games with the Anaheim Ducks last season. Kreider unexpectedly hit the UFA market after he and the Ducks agreed to a mutual contract termination on Wednesday, with reports stating Kreider wants to return home to the East Coast.
Elliotte Friedman, the best insider for the NHL, posted a podcast Thursday morning with an update on the situation and fanned the flames of Kreider returning to Boston.
"He wants to go back by his family East," Friedman said. "I know there's a lot of speculation about Boston. It makes a lot of sense. We'll see on Thursday. I heard there was interest in him."
The veteran forward is a native of Boxford, Massachusetts. He was picked 19th overall in the 2009 NHL Draft and then played three seasons of college hockey with Boston College.
Montreal gave Kreider a one-year, bonus-laden deal for the star veteran.
The two-time All-Star forward spent the first 13 years of his NHL career with the Rangers, posting 326 goals and 582 points in 883 games for the Original 6 franchise, while reaching the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, along with multiple Conference Finals appearances in 2012, 2015, 2022, and 2024.
Kreider spent 2025-26 with the Ducks.
The veteran forward is a guaranteed 20-goals-a-year player. Kreider has never had a season since his rookie year when he didn't play at a pace of 20-goals-per-year, while only failing to reach the mark officially twice in that time due to injuries in 2017-18 and 2013-14.
Kreider can play on both special teams units and will be an excellent veteran leader for the younger Canadiens forwards.
Had he landed in Boston, Kreider felt like a perfect fit to skate alongside Fraser Minten and become another key part of a new, emerging leadership.
Instead, the Bruins will likely roll with what they've got in an already strong, depth-filled forward depth chart and move forward through camp that way.
