Kreider Free Agency: Bruins Emerge as Preferred Landing Spot

Chris Kreider is a free agent.

The 35-year-old winger cleared waivers on Thursday, a day after the Ducks placed him on unconditional waivers to terminate the last year of his contract. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman pointed to the Boston Bruins as Kreider’s preferred landing spot on Thursday’s edition of 32 Thoughts.

Kreider signed off on the termination himself. He is a Massachusetts native who spent 13 seasons with the Rangers, and he made it clear he wanted to get back east and closer to family.

Friedman added on the podcast that Kreider was ready to sit out the final year of his deal if a team he had no interest in joining put in a claim. Nobody did.

Anaheim’s side of this is pure math. The Ducks matched Philadelphia’s five-year, $90 million offer sheet on Leo Carlsson back in July, and they still have to get restricted free agent Cutter Gauthier under contract.

Gauthier led the Ducks with 41 goals and 69 points last season and is going to cost real money. Kreider’s $6.5 million cap hit was the easiest number to wipe off the books, and only $4 million of actual salary was still owed on it.

Here’s Friedman laying out the Kreider situation and plenty more from the NHL media tour:

Whoever signs him is getting a winger who still scores. Kreider put up 22 goals and 50 points in 75 games in his lone season in Anaheim, then added seven points in 12 playoff games as the Ducks knocked off Edmonton in the first round.

He owns 348 goals and 632 points in 958 career games, with 11 different 20-goal seasons. His 52-goal year in 2021-22 is tied with Adam Graves for the second-highest single-season total in Rangers history, behind only the 54 Jaromir Jagr scored in 2005-06.

Training camps open next week, so Kreider does not have a long runway to sort out where he lands. The Bruins are the team to watch.