Chris Kreider is suddenly out there, but don’t expect the New Jersey Devils to be the team that jumps in.
The Anaheim Ducks placed Kreider on unconditional waivers with the goal of terminating his contract, a move that appears tied to opening salary cap space for a Cutter Gauthier signing. That puts a proven scorer on the market, and the latest reporting says Kreider wants to land with an East Coast team.
There’s no mystery about what Kreider brings. He has 348 career goals, and he scored 22 last season with the Ducks.
Even at 35, he still knows how to find the net, especially in the dirty spots around the crease and in high-danger areas. That kind of scoring touch matters even more in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where teams live on those ugly goals.
For the Devils, the fit is obvious on paper. They averaged 2.76 goals per game last season and didn’t have a single skater reach 30 goals, so more offense is a real need.
Kreider would also give them a power-play option and the kind of veteran presence that can help settle a group. The source points to how the Ducks became a playoff team in his lone season there, while the Rangers fell apart and finished last in the Metropolitan Division.
And yet, the Devils don’t look like a Kreider team.
Sunny Mehta’s approach has been about betting on upside. This summer he brought in several forwards with the idea that they could grow into something bigger, and even with veterans like Anthony Mantha and Evan Rodrigues in the mix, the emphasis has been on players who can still develop.
Kreider is on the other side of that curve. He’s 35, and while he can still help, the risk of a drop-off is real.
The source puts it plainly: this isn’t the kind of gamble Mehta wants to make.
Roster math matters too. New Jersey already has a surplus of forwards after its offseason additions, including Luke Evangelista, which makes another veteran scorer harder to justify.
It’s also worth remembering that this would be the sort of move the Devils might have made in the past, when the young core was still trying to take shape. Tyler Toffoli filled that role in the 2023 offseason, and that deal didn’t work out.
A Kreider move could easily carry the same kind of risk.
So if the Devils are out, where does Kreider land?
If he sticks to the East Coast, the list narrows fast. In the Metropolitan Division, a return to the New York Rangers is one possibility, as is a move to the Philadelphia Flyers, who made the playoffs last season and are looking to build on it. The New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins are also mentioned, though both teams want more youth in their lineups.
In the Atlantic Division, the Boston Bruins stand out as a hometown option, with Kreider able to help offensively and serve as a mentor for prospect James Hagens. The Florida Panthers could use him on the third line after back-to-back Cup runs, and the Ottawa Senators are another team that might see value in adding a veteran scorer.
Kreider isn’t expected to linger on the market. The Devils, though, look like a team that will watch this one from the sidelines.
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