3 Teams Linked To Signing Free Agent Chris Kreider

Chris Kreider wants to head back east, and he was willing to have his contract terminated by the Anaheim Ducks to do so.

In a bizarre move on Wednesday, it was announced that the Ducks and Kreider were heading for a divorce, as the power forward ended up walking away from $4 million. This was something that the Ducks were very open to, as they've been trying to lock up restricted free-agent forward Cutter Gauthier, and now have the resources to do so under the salary cap.

The Ducks and Chris Kreider are expected to agree to waivers for the purpose of contract termination per @FriedgeHNIC 🤯

Kreider has a $6.5M cap hit this season, the Ducks currently have ~$9M in cap space and Cutter Gauthier is still a RFA. pic.twitter.com/IRPDiWVlaj

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) September 9, 2026

Kreider, 35, had one year left on his contract at $6.5 million AAV, and held a 15-team no-trade list. He's coming off a decent season with the Ducks, scoring 22 goals and 28 assists, for 50 points in 78 games. Kreider averaged 17:02 of ice-time per game, and is going to have a long list of suitors interested in signing a contract with training camps opening next week.

As far as destinations go for Kreider, he wants to move back east closer to his family, so the Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, and the Philadelphia Flyers have all be named early favorites. The Flyers have Trevor Zegras and a need for left wingers, so there's certainly some potential there that Kreider wants to pair up with one of his close friends. The Canadiens have Cole Caufield and Kent Hughes, who Kreider knows very well and they have a need for a top-six winger, so the move makes a lot of sense.

The Bruins need offensive punch and have a hole to fill on their left side, so they've quickly become a legitimate suitor. We'll see how this all shakes up over the next two days, but with camps starting, expect to see Kreider move fast. It's likely going to be a two-year deal at around $4 million AAV.