Report: Kreider Told 4 Teams Not To Claim Him On Waivers

It's coming down to decision time for Chris Kreider. A slew of potential destinations have been thrown around on the rumor mill, but according to a new report on Saturday from insider Pierre LeBrun, his decision is down to three or four finalists, and a decision could even be made by the end of the day, or at least by end of day Sunday. 

LeBrun also revealed in The Athletic that Kreider's camp told several teams NOT to claim him on waivers this past week.

Kreider had one year left on his deal at a $6.5 million cap hit, but the actual cash left on the deal was only $4 million. Because of that, there were 4-5 teams that actually had interest in simply claiming him on waivers. But Kreider’s agents, Matt and Ryan Keator, strongly dissuaded those teams from doing so (with the obvious threat being that the player wouldn’t report).  

Kreider wanted to make his own UFA market choice and didn’t want that decision taken away from him. Those teams were understanding of that.

Kreider and the Anaheim Ducks agreed to place him on waivers for the purposes on terminating his contract. But he obviously had some particular destinations in mind. 

LeBrun says that even though Kreider is choosing between three or four finalists, he did come into the weekend with an "open mind". He adds that "my understanding is that you could list every team that made the playoffs in the Eastern Conference last season as possibilities, as well as a few select teams in the West."

It sounds like the Massachusetts-born veteran is close to making a decision. Last year, he posted 22 goals and 50 points with the Ducks, his first season away from the New York Rangers, where he spent the first 13 years of his career.