Chris Kreider is on his way to unrestricted free agency after the Anaheim Ducks put him on unconditional waivers for contract termination, a move that clears $6.5 million in cap space and gives the 35-year-old winger a chance to reset once he clears waivers on Thursday.
For Anaheim, the decision is as much about the ledger as the roster. Kreider was entering the final season of a seven-year, $45.5 million deal with a $6.5 million cap hit, and he was owed $4 million in salary. The contract also included a 15-team no-trade clause, but the Ducks have now opted to move on and open up room in a tight cap situation.
Kreider’s one season in Anaheim was productive. He scored 22 goals and finished with 50 points in 75 games, then added two goals and seven points in 12 playoff games before the Ducks were knocked out in the second round. Anaheim acquired him in June of 2025 from the New York Rangers in exchange for prospect Carey Terrance and a fourth-round pick.
The veteran’s resume still runs deep. Drafted 19th overall by the Rangers in 2009, Kreider has piled up 348 goals and 632 points in 958 career games between New York and Anaheim. He was part of the Rangers team that reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2013-14, the franchise’s first trip there since 1994, and his biggest scoring burst came in 2021-22 when he put up 52 goals and 77 points in 81 games.
Kreider also represented the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025, though he did not make the Olympic team earlier this year.
The Ducks’ motivation is tied to another big piece of business: Cutter Gauthier. Anaheim has been working through a cap crunch with the restricted free agent still waiting on a new deal, and moving Kreider off the books should leave the club with more than $15.5 million in cap space, per PuckPedia.
Gauthier’s next contract has only become a bigger number as the summer has gone on. The Ducks matched the five-year, $90 million offer sheet the Philadelphia Flyers gave Leo Carlsson in July, and then Connor Bedard signed a five-year deal with a $15 million cap hit. Macklin Celebrini followed with a five-year extension at an $18.8 million cap hit, before Cale Makar topped that with an eight-year extension carrying a $20.4 million cap hit.
Carlsson said Wednesday at the NHL/NHLPA media tour in Las Vegas that Kreider understood the business side of the move.
“Chris, he’s leaving, but he’s also really happy for me, as well,” Carlsson told Mark Lazerus of The Athletic. “It’s a hard business.”
Gauthier led Anaheim in scoring last season with 41 goals and 69 points in 76 games, becoming the third player in franchise history to score 40 or more goals, joining Teemu Selanne and Corey Perry. He added four goals and 12 points in 12 playoff games before the Ducks were eliminated in the second round.
The 22-year-old remains one of the biggest names among the restricted free agents still without a deal, alongside Columbus Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli and Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin. He was not eligible for an offer sheet this summer.
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