The Ducks acquired veteran winger Chris Kreider from the New York Rangers on Thursday in exchange for prospect forward Carey Terrance in a deal that also sent the Ducks’ fourth-round selection in this year’s draft back to Anaheim and Toronto’s third-rounder to the Rangers.

Kreider, 34, had played his entire career in the Big Apple, beginning in the 2012 playoffs when he set a record for goals scored by a player who hadn’t yet played a regular-season game. He ultimately became the storied franchise’s all-time leader in postseason power-play goals and playoff game-winners.

Given that the Ducks have struggled offensively, come up short repeatedly in tight games and performed poorly in both areas of special teams, an all-situations player with scoring touch like Kreider could prove a sight for sore eyes on Katella Avenue.

“There’s a whole host of things that made Chris Kreider attractive for our organization,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said. “We can start with his skating ability, we can start with his size, we can start with the strength that he has at 230 pounds — he’s a force in front of the net — and his goal-scoring.”

The move was something of a buy-low, with a modest mid-round pick upgrade and a middle-tier prospect heading to the Rangers for a player who elicited countless fan tributes online after his long and fruitful career in blue, red and white. That dip in value was due in part to a decline in production last season, when Kreider aided a futile playoff push as best he could despite playing through back spasms early in the season and a broken hand that later required surgery down the stretch, among other health issues.

“Even though he had a tough season last year, I fully believe he’s going to bounce back and have a great season for us,” Verbeek said. “He’s going to be an unreal example to all our young guys of how to score goals in tough situations, be that playoffs, scoring in tight to the net, deflections or rebound goals.”

Kreider will arrive in Orange County with two years left on his contract at an annual average value of $6.5 million (cash salary for each season is $5 million, per Puckpedia). He’d been the Rangers’ alternate captain for the past seven seasons and this trade will reunite him with another one-time Blue Shirt who wore the “A”, Ryan Strome, and a former Rangers captain, Jacob Trouba (his acquisition via trade last year when was the Ducks sent the pick they reacquired here to New York).

All three players, along with Ducks winger Frank Vatrano for the final 22 games of the campaign, were in Manhattan during the 2021-22 season. Then, Kreider scored a career-high 52 goals to tie for the second most in a single season in the Original Six organization’s history. He followed it up with efforts of 36 goals and 39 goals before tapering off considerably last season with 22 goals and 30 total points.

Yet that campaign was one wrought with turmoil in New York that saw contentiousness between team and player in various instances as the Rangers desperately tried to foist recently valued veterans Trouba and, before him, Barclay Goodrow, on other clubs to clear cap space. A memo from general manager Chris Drury to the other 31 clubs overtly put established players, Trouba and Kreider among them, on the trade block.

The result was not pretty as the Rags went from conference finalists in 2024 to missing the playoffs altogether in 2025 amid tepid performance on the ice, which led to the sacking of coach Peter Laviolette.

For Kreider, unlike Trouba and Goodrow who were effectively shoved out the Madison Square Garden doors, his departure was drawn out in a way that allowed him to not only participate in the rehoming process, but also go through the various emotions that accompanied it less abruptly than most traded players.

He said he came of age in New York, growing into adulthood, starting a family and blossoming professionally, leaving any anger or acrimony to subside into appreciation.

“I keep on arriving at gratitude for how I was treated, the opportunities I was given, the connections I was able to make, the relationships, friendships and experiences I was able to have playing in front of that fan base, in that arena and playing in some of the games I was able to play in, is stuff that is so memorable and means so much,” Kreider said.

Kreider won silver with the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off and had previously garnered three medals with the Americans, bronze and gold at the junior level as well as bronze at the senior World Championships. He twice won the NCAA title with Boston College.

In addition to familiarity with multiple Ducks from his Rangers tenure, Kreider has become close with Trevor Zegras during the latter’s ascent from amateur player to NHL lottery pick. Not only have they trained together, but the two players participate in the Shoulder Check Showcase, an annual event in Connecticut to promote mental health awareness.

Kreider described Zegras as having been “born caffeinated” with the capability to “energize a room.”

Through Zegras, he had contact with Mason McTavish. As a BC alumnus, he knew plenty about Cutter Gauthier, who finished fifth in the Calder Trophy voting last season. Via former teammate and Swedish mainstay Mika Zibanejad, Kreider had heard plenty about Leo Carlsson, whom he described as “a special player.”

Kreider was also complimentary toward the defense corps and new four-time champion head coach Joel Quenneville. Surely, he will soon gain a deep appreciation for the Ducks’ top performer last season, goalie Lukáš Dostál, as well. Kreider said the ability to “go behind the curtain” thanks to his myriad connections to the Ducks put him at ease while waiving his no-trade clause and switching coasts.

“They think they’ve got a fantastic group with the opportunity to compete, to win hockey games and make a little noise, and I agree with them,” Kreider said. “The new hire, bringing in coach Quenneville, is a massive draw for me and probably for other players going forward, with his track record.”