Potential landing spots for former Ducks forward Chris Kreider

The Anaheim Ducks are waiving veteran forward Chris Kreider for the purposes of terminating his contract to create some much-needed salary cap space. The Ducks all of a sudden find themselves in a cap crunch after matching the offer sheet for forward Leo Carlsson, re-signing Pavel Mintyukov and still needing to re-sign Cutter Gauthier. 

Kreider is in the final year of a contract that pays him $6.5 million against the cap, with $4 million in actual salary for the season.

The Ducks reportedly did not like any of the trade offers they received for Kreider, and would have likely needed to give up a "sweetener" to get a team to take on that contract. 

Despite that, there is still expected to be a market for Kreider when he passes waivers and becomes a free agent. So let's take a look at four teams that could be a good fit for him this season.

Buffalo Sabres

This would be an outstanding match. 

Kreider reportedly wants to return closer to the East Coast, and the Sabres could absolutely use a player like him.

They have had a quiet offseason in terms of outside additions, while also having lost players like Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram. They need another top-six winger and some scoring depth, and Kreider could bring all of that while also being a veteran presence for a young, up-and-coming team that is looking to build on the success it had a year ago in ending its 14-year playoff drought.

New York Rangers

Could there be a potential reunion between Kreider and the Rangers?

Before being traded to the Ducks a year ago, he seemed to be on a track that would have made him one of the Rangers' all-time greats and best players. And while he will still eventually hold that sort of standing, his exit from New York was extremely tumultuous given the way the locker room revolted against general manager Chris Drury and his attempts to move several veteran players. 

Despite missing the playoffs in 2025-26, the Rangers have had an outstanding offseason that has seen them add Pavel Dorofeyev, Sean Durzi, Marcus Pettersson and Eeli Tolvanen, which should put them in contention for a playoff spot. They could still use some additional scoring, and Kreider would not only be a popular addition with the fan base, but he could still be a 20-25 goal-scorer. 

Montreal Canadiens

This would make incredible sense from a purely hockey standpoint. Montreal is one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference on paper, despite having an incredibly quiet offseason. Their young core is one of the best in the league, but they could still use another top-six winger. 

The potential issue here: Would Montreal fans ever accept him as one of their own?

Kreider's collision with former All-Star goalie Carey Price in the 2014 playoffs significantly altered that series, potentially robbing Montreal of a Stanley Cup Final appearance. The bad blood might still be there. On both sides.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers were a surprising playoff team a year ago, but are still very much in the middle of a rebuild and have an extremely young roster. They missed out on the chance to add Carlsson from the Ducks, but maybe they could benefit from the domino effect their offer sheet inspired and get Kreider.