Chris Kreider’s next stop is suddenly one of the louder talking points around the Red Wings.
The Anaheim Ducks and Kreider announced Thursday that they were mutually parting ways, and he cleared waivers late in the day. Kreider, who put up 22 goals and 50 points in 75 games last season, is back on the market and, according to his agent, prefers to play in the Eastern Conference. That naturally has Detroit fans looking at the fit.
It’s easy to see why the idea has traction. The Red Wings are missing a veteran scorer after Patrick Kane’s departure, and they need more stability and consistency in the lineup. Kreider could check that box, at least on paper.
The strongest argument for bringing him in starts with the numbers he’s carried for most of the last decade. Kreider has scored at least 20 goals in each of the past 10 seasons, reached 30 goals three times in that span, and even smashed through the 50-goal barrier with 52 in 81 games during the 2021-22 season. That kind of track record is hard to ignore.
Still, this isn’t that version of Kreider anymore. He’s 35 now, and the question is what he can realistically give a team like Detroit in 2026-27. The answer is pretty straightforward: goals.
The Red Wings need offense, and they need it from somewhere. With Patrick Kane and James van Riemsdyk gone, and Dylan Larkin eventually on the way out, those goals have to be replaced.
Some of that scoring could come from Viktor Arvidsson. More might come from younger players such as Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and, potentially, Carter Bear.
A bounce-back year from Marco Kasper would help too.
But if Detroit wants the safest bet for immediate production, Kreider is the veteran name that stands out.
A short-term deal, especially a one-year contract, would give the Red Wings another proven scorer and maybe even a trade chip if they end up selling near the deadline. In that scenario, an Eastern Conference contender could come calling. Of course, that would require Detroit to have a general manager in place to make it happen, but if one arrives ready to move quickly, Kreider would be a logical early swing.
The case against it is just as clear.
Kreider is 35 and will turn 36 before the season ends. He’s no longer the 50-goal force he once was, and speed is not part of his game the way it used to be. Detroit already lived through that sort of veteran commitment with Patrick Kane, and the question now is whether repeating it makes sense.
Probably not, at least from a rebuild standpoint.
The Red Wings need to lean into their younger players and prospects right now. This season may not be the flashiest one, but it should still be treated as an opportunity to build something bigger than the 84-game schedule in front of them. That means giving younger talent a chance to grow and helping set a winning tone in Hockeytown again.
Adding Kreider would push in the opposite direction. It would buy time, but it would also delay the next step. In a locker room that already feels unsettled, that kind of move could create more noise than clarity.
For now, though, the biggest obstacle to any Kreider-to-Detroit buzz may be organizational rather than financial or tactical. Until the Red Wings hire a new GM, any real movement on that front seems on hold.
In Other News...
Red Wings Next GM Walks Into An Immediate Contract Crisis
The next general manager walking into the Red Wings job is not getting much of a runway. Before there is even time to settle into the office, there is a pile of contract business waiting, starting with defenseman Simon Edvinsson and the need to sort out his next deal while the organization also takes stock of its current hockey operations structure and staff. Add in the broader pressure of keeping the roster moving in the right direction, and the first stretch on the job already looks like a test of timing as much as judgment.
Alex DeBrincats extension situation adds another layer of urgency, because a stalled negotiation around a top winger is the kind of issue that can shape how the rest of the roster is handled. There is also the matter of Dylan Larkin, whose future has become part of the conversation as well, making the incoming GMs first months less about long-term planning in the abstract and more about sorting through a series of decisions that could define the franchises direction quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Remember A Former First Rounder For Far More Than Hockey
Brent Peterson was remembered this week as much for what he meant away from the ice as for his place in Red Wings history. Detroit drafted him in the first round in 1978, and he went on to play parts of four seasons with the club before continuing his NHL career with the Sabres, Canucks and Whalers, building the kind of steady hockey resume that kept him around the game for years.
Peterson later moved into coaching and was working as an assistant with the Predators when his life took a different turn after a Parkinsons diagnosis. He spent the rest of it pushing to help others facing the same disease, and the foundation he launched with his wife became a major part of that effort, a reminder that some of the most lasting legacies in sports have little to do with goals, assists or draft position. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Just Turned Dylan Larkin Into An Offseason Question
The Red Wings made a notable change to the heart of their leadership structure this week by moving Dylan Larkin out of the captaincy, a decision that lands squarely in the middle of an already unsettled offseason. For a franchise that has leaned on Larkin as the face of the room and the standard-bearer on the ice, the announcement adds another layer to a summer defined by transition and uncertainty.
Larkin said he will be at training camp and acknowledged recent conversations with team leadership, but he did not directly address the captaincy switch. The bigger question now is where this goes from here, because the organization has made clear that any further discussion about his future will wait until a new hockey operations leader and general manager are in place, leaving a key piece of Detroits identity hanging as the next front-office regime takes shape. [Read more 🡒]