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7 Free-Agent Landing Spots for Chris Kreider After Being Waived by Ducks
Business in the NHL picked up in a big way on Wednesday when the Anaheim Ducks placed Chris Kreider on waivers for contract termination. The Ducks need to get RFA Cutter Gauthier re-signed, and ending Kreider's contract frees up $6.5 million in cap space to make that happen.
Kreider potentially gets the chance to sign somewhere new (if he isn't claimed on waivers, that is), and he put up 22 goals and 28 assists last season in 75 games, plus another seven points in 12 playoff games. At 35 years old, he's older, but he's still got game, and teams in need of a guy who menaces goalies with his presence around the net and ability to score on the power play will be in demand.
There are enough teams that could use a player with Kreider's skill set, but as Elliotte Friedman shared, he would like to go back East to be closer to family. We've picked out a handful of teams that could be players for the former 50-goal scorer and the reasons why they'd be in the hunt.
Boston Bruins
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As much as Chris Kreider going back to the Rangers would be a homecoming, signing with the Boston Bruins would be a true return home for the Boxford, MA native and Boston College alum.
Kreider would give the Bruins a net presence in the mix with guys like David Pastrňák and J-J Peterka, who use speed and skill to get pucks on the net and generate offense. Although Kreider wouldn't help Boston by getting faster, he would fit in well with them, make games meaner around the crease, and add another weapon to the power play.
Kreider going back to Boston for the first time since he helped Boston College win the 2012 National Championship would be a true sweetheart story, and playing for the Bruins, who could use his help to deepen the lineup, makes it a natural fit. Boston has just over $5 million in cap space, and that's enough to make them serious contenders if they want to be.
Buffalo Sabres
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There's been so much intrigue around the Buffalo Sabres this offseason, and not just because of their fun run to the second round of the playoffs. They lost Alex Tuch and Bo Byram this summer. While they were able to find a similarly skilled defenseman to replace Byram, they didn't do the same with Tuch. Chris Kreider would come close to doing that.
The Sabres have a bit of a crowded house at forward, and adding another veteran like Kreider would make it a bit difficult for all of their younger forwards to stick around (Konsta Helenius, Noah Östlund, Jiri Kulich, to name a few).
Then again, if the Sabres are still trying to pull goalie Connor Hellebuyck out of Winnipeg in a trade, some of those young players might not be around and thus open the door for Kreider. A move of that magnitude might be the kind of thing that convinced Kreider to go to Buffalo, but a move like that right before training camp opens would be stunning.
Kreider has experience with Sabres coach Lindy Ruff, who was an assistant with the Rangers for three years while he was there, so that connection is enough to put the Sabers on the radar. But what Kreider can do at even strength and on the power play are reasons enough for Buffalo to want him regardless.
Carolina Hurricanes
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The Hurricanes have been really quiet this offseason. They've been busy celebrating their Stanley Cup win, of course, but when it comes to making moves, they haven't tinkered with much of anything. Being the defending champions, however, puts them in prime position to add a veteran like Chris Kreider with ease.
The Canes don't need to mess around with their lineup much because what they've got works really, really well. But if they added a net bully like Kreider, who's got the kind of touch with the stick and ability to ruffle feathers in the crease, it would make him an ideal player for how they pump pucks on the net in the offensive zone.
Kreider's ability to tip pucks and get to rebounds to score goals in the dirty areas makes him an attractive player for any team, but with how Carolina fires so many shots, Kreider could make an offensive killing there, be it with goals or assists. The Hurricanes don't need the help on the power play (24.9 percent, fourth best in the NHL), but a guy like Kreider could make them even better.
They've got cap space, and they're without Seth Jarvis and Eric Robinson to start the season thanks to injuries. It makes sense for Kreider to land in Carolina for one more playoff run.
New York Rangers
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Few Rangers players over the years have been as beloved as Chris Kreider was. When he was moved to Anaheim a year ago, albeit in a somewhat predictable trade, it cut the fans deep to see him no longer in Manhattan. If he wants to head east and return home, the Rangers would undoubtedly have interest.. right?
New York has had a solid offseason, and if they were able to woo Kreider back to the Blueshirts, it would give their forward group much-needed depth and someone very familiar with how things work there. Although he'd be playing for a new coach in Mike Sullivan, Kreider's knack for scoring in big moments for the Rangers, on top of his steady production, would make the move an instant hit.
There's a pretty big catch, however, as the Rangers are tight to the cap (PuckPedia.com has them just under $1 million under the ceiling). They've also added their own depth with Eeli Tolvanen and have other younger players they'd like to work into the lineup. Then again, a productive Kreider would give the Rangers a lift in more than a few ways. If they can figure out a way to make it work under the cap, it'd give them a lift they weren't expecting to make.
New York Islanders
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As much as Kreider returning to New York makes sense, what if he went a little bit further east than Manhattan, out to Long Island instead? Before Rangers and Isles fans send us insults for the suggestion, the fit makes a lot of sense.
Kreider would give the Islanders a tested veteran scorer on the wing, something they lost and were unable to replace when Anders Lee signed with Utah as a free agent. One look at the Islanders' roster tells us they need someone else who can score goals and work on the power play, especially with Matthew Schaefer directing traffic from the blue line.
Kreider's work around the net and ability to agitate any defenseman and goalie in the league with his presence fits the attitude the Isles have played with over the years, and coach Pete DeBoer would undoubtedly love to have a veteran like him to contribute. The Islanders offseason was very quiet and adding a former beloved Ranger to the lineup would be enough to juice up the rivalry again.
Philadelphia Flyers
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The Flyers have spent the summer trying to add more offense to the lineup and tried to do it in a big way by signing Leo Carlsson to an offer sheet that Anaheim matched. It would look like a 4-D chess strategy if the Flyers were able to land Chris Kreider because they helped put the Ducks in a cap bind.
Kreider would give Philly a boost along the wing, where they've already got some strong players in Porter Martone, Owen Tippett, Travis Konecny, and Matvei Michkov. Kreider's strengths and abilities would make him a natural mentor for Martone and put him in a position to ensure the Flyers return to the playoffs.
When you factor in Kreider's ability to contribute to the power play, he's a player who makes a ton of sense for the Flyers given how poorly they fared on the man advantage (15.7 percent, last in the NHL). Anywhere in the Northeast is close to home for Kreider, and the Flyers have more than enough cap space to work with (more than $13 million) if they need that to help win him over.
Pittsburgh Penguins
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One thing we know about the Penguins is that they've got an older team, and the one upside to having a group like that is that adding one more veteran doesn't really hurt, right? That's why Chris Kreider makes sense.
Kreider's net presence and power-play ability would give the Penguins something they could desperately use. Not since Patric Hornqvist have the Pens had a guy more than happy to hang around the front of the net and bother opponents, and Kreider's got a fair bit more scoring touch from the circles and slot. The Penguins having defensemen like Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson who can shoot with skill to produce goals of their own or set up deflections would make Kreider an ideal player to make that happen as well.
Kreider teaming up with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin might make Rangers fans vomit in their mouths, but with the Penguins eager to have more playoff magic in their star players' waning years, adding Kreider to make them deeper and more dangerous makes sense.
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