Rangers’ Chris Kreider waives no-trade clause, joining Ducks

Chris Kreider is joining the Anaheim Ducks after the winger waived his no-trade clause to allow the New York Rangers to deal him away.

The Rangers will receive prospect Carey Terrance in the trade, which both teams announced Thursday. The Rangers are also getting a third-round pick in this year’s draft that originally belonged to the Toronto Maple Leafs, while the Ducks are getting back the fourth-round pick that went to New York in the Jacob Trouba trade in December.

To make the deal happen, Kreider had to waive his 15-team no-trade list, which he had recently added Anaheim to.

“Chris Kreider is the type of player we were looking to add this offseason,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said in a statement. “He has size, speed and is a clutch performer that elevates his game in big moments. Chris also upgrades both of our special teams units, something we really needed to address.”

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The Ducks will take on the final two years of Kreider’s contract, which pays him $6.5 million annually. That creates cap flexibility for the Rangers heading into free agency on July 1.

Rangers general manager Chris Drury has been looking for ways to shake up his roster after missing the playoffs, continuing a trend that began early in the season when Drury traded team captain Trouba. The Rangers were transparent with Kreider and his representatives since the offseason began about their intentions to move in a different direction.

By getting the move done so early in the offseason, the Rangers felt they could make more moves over the summer, including potential offer sheets.

“We want to thank Chris Kreider for all of his contributions to the Rangers organization over his stellar career,” Drury said in a statement. “Chris has been an integral part of some of the most iconic moments in Rangers history, including setting multiple franchise records and helping the team advance to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final. His leadership on the ice and tireless efforts in the community — which he was recognized for as the inaugural recipient of the Rod Gilbert ‘Mr. Ranger’ Award — only add to his distinguished Rangers legacy. Chris will always be a Ranger and we wish him and his family all the best.”

The Ducks and Verbeek, meanwhile, are looking to take big swings to move forward and make the playoffs for the first time since 2018. Last month, Anaheim hired three-time Stanley Cup champion Joel Quenneville as its coach. Quenneville is the second-winningest NHL coach of all time.

Kreider, 34, had played his entire 13-year career with the Rangers, who drafted him in the first round in 2009. He is the Rangers’ all-time playoff leader in goals, power-play goals and game-winning goals. Kreider has 326 career goals and 582 points in 883 regular-season games.

He took a step back in production this season, with 22 goals and eight assists in 68 games. The veteran forward, one of the best net-front presences in the NHL, revealed in April that he dealt with several health issues during the season, including back problems and an illness that led to him experiencing vertigo. Kreider also said he battled through a hand injury that he suffered in the first game after the 4 Nations Face-Off, where he competed for Team USA. He said the hand injury may require offseason surgery.

Terrance, 20, was a second-round pick by the Ducks in 2023 who had 20 goals and 19 assists while serving as captain for the Erie Otters in the OHL this season. He addresses an organizational need for the Rangers as a young center. Terrance won back-to-back world junior championship gold medals with Team USA in 2024 and 2025.