Rumours had been there for months now and after some rumblings that a deal with the Anaheim Ducks was in the works, we waited a couple days for the likely Chris Kreider trade to go through (he had a no-trade clause that needed to be waived). After Kreider spent some time evaluating the deal, he accepted the trade, and the long-time New York Rangers power forward is off to Anaheim in a deal with the Ducks:

Kreider is coming off a 22-goal season where he missed 14 games, but had a back injury, a hand injury, and a case of vertigo all in the 2024-25 campaign.

Along with Kreider, the Rangers are sending a fourth-round pick (104^th overall) to the Ducks. In return, the Ducks are shipping prospect Carey Terrance and a third-round pick (89^th overall) to the Rangers. Both of those draft picks are for the 2025 Entry Draft.

Let's break down the trade.

What Anaheim Gets

Kreider clearly had a down year in 2024-25 but, as mentioned earlier, it's fair to wonder how much of it was injury-related (not to mention it was a down year nearly all their forwards anyway). The crux here is whether Kreider can be healthy. The hand and vertigo issues are one thing, but he's a 34-year-old power forward with over 1000 NHL games (regular and playoffs) to his name. A back injury for that type of player with that many games at that age is always a concern; just look at Boone Jenner, and he's two years younger. For Kreider to have any sort of rebound, his back needs to be healthy, and that's something we just won't know until next season.

Last week, I wrote about Anaheim's power-play issues, specifically when it comes to generating shots in the slot/net-front area. Whatever other issues Kreider had last season, he still led their regular power-play forwards in goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-4 (per Natural Stat Trick with a minimum of 41 games played). He also finished seventh among regular PP forwards league-wide by individual expected goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-4 at 3.21, his fourth straight season between 3 and 3.5. Individual expected goals heavily relies on proximity to the net for value, so even in a down year, he was still a very good net-front guy with the man advantage. The Anaheim power play now having a genuine net-front option will hopefully help that aspect of their offence, while also opening lanes for the players on the perimeter.

Assuming he's healthy, the real question is whether Kreider can bounce back at even strength. His defensive impacts, per Evolving Hockey – had been declining before the 2024-25 season, and if that decline continues, he would need a huge turnaround offensively to be a top-6 winger. These are a lot of hypotheticals, but it's important to keep in mind that he can both A) be healthy, and B) endure age-related decline. Expecting the Kreider of three years ago is expecting too much, but if his back holds up, it's not hard to see a rebound from 2024-25.

The final question is how he'll be used. Until the 2024-25 season, he was an 18- to 19-minute winger. If Anaheim gives him those minutes at this stage of his career, there could very well be diminishing returns. That is why expectations need to be tempered. The Ducks had four wingers skate 17-19 minutes last season, so maybe Kreider slots into that kind of role, and that may be too much. If they do back off his minutes to the 15- to 16-minute range, it'll be hard for him to rack up high levels of production for fantasy purposes. Minutes matter, and this is a case where more minutes may hurt the team but be good for fantasy, where fewer minutes may help the team but be bad for fantasy.

Where Kreider slots in will be interesting. They used Trevor Zegras on the left side frequently in the second half of the season, Cutter Gauthier played on the left side, and Frank Vatrano also skated in that role. Adding Kreider gives them four left wingers but only two will likely have a lot of fantasy relevance. Does this keep Gauthier from more minutes? Does it mean Zegras is moving back to the middle, or traded? There is a glut of very useful fantasy players here and there are only so many minutes to go around.

Back in New York, this is great news for Alexis Lafrenière's fantasy value. There have been trade rumours, but assuming he stays around, this locks him into a top-6 role at even strength. Depending how they want to assemble the top PP unit, he may have just moved into that role as well. The thing keeping Lafrenière from ascending in the fantasy realm was the lack of top PP time and this trade may have just solved that problem. It also likely means more minutes for Will Cuylle.

What the Rangers Gets

Drafted in the second round of the 2023 Draft, Terrance followed up with 49 goals and 91 points in 101 games for the Erie Otters over the last two years. That isn’t very much production for a draftee, so he has a long way to go to establish himself as a genuine prospect. It is a dart throw for the Rangers, but not one fans or fantasy owners should expect to see fantasy relevance from for a few years, if at all.

Who This Helps

Anaheim Power Play

Alexis Lafreniere

Will Cuylle

Who This Hurts

Trevor Zegras

Frank Vatrano

Cutter Gauthier