One Year Later: The Chris Kreider Trade

By Thomas Harrington

A year ago on June 12th, the Anaheim Ducks traded forward prospect Carey Terrance and a 2025 third round draft pick to the New York Rangers for forward Chris Kreider and a 2025 fourth round pick. With their third round pick, the Rangers chose defenseman Artyom Gonchar 89th overall. With their fourth round pick, the Ducks chose goaltender Elijah Neuenschwander 104th overall. The Ducks had previously sent that fourth round pick to the Rangers in the Jacob Trouba trade, they received their draft pick back in return in this deal.

The Ducks had originally drafted Terrance in the second round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, 59th overall. After being drafted, he spent two years in the OHL, and was the captain of the Erie Otters in the 2024-2025 season. He also played for Team USA at the World Juniors, scoring two goals in seven games.

The Rangers had originally drafted Kreider in the first round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, 19th overall. He made his NHL debut in the playoffs in the 2011-2012 season. The following year he split between the AHL and NHL, and became a regular in the NHL the season after that. In Kreider’s best year, he scored 52 goals in 81 games, while adding another 10 goals in 20 playoff games. Overall, he scored 304 goals and 552 points in New York, ranking third in goals in Rangers’ history.

New York wasn’t happy with their 2024-2025 season. They finished with just 85 points, a huge dropoff from the year before, when they won the Presidents’ Trophy with 114 points. Looking to change the culture of their team, the Rangers made a number of deals, including sending Trouba to the Ducks in December 2024. By trading Kreider, the Rangers were looking to free up cap space, giving them more flexibility going into the offseason. He also struggled in his final season in New York, scoring only 22 goals and 30 points in 68 games. The Ducks were looking to upgrade their forward group and get back into the playoffs for the first time in several years. They were also looking to improve on a league worst powerplay.

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With Anaheim, Kreider played in 75 games and scored 22 goals and 50 points. He had a great start to his Anaheim career, scoring four goals in his first three games, and then had a four-game goal scoring streak that saw him light the lamp five times in early November. His offense dried up towards the end of the regular season, with his final goal coming in March, though he did have three assists in his last three games of the season. Kreider played in all 12 of Anaheim’s playoff games and scored two goals and seven points. He wasn’t great in the postseason, but did have a three-point night in Anaheim’s game six win to eliminate Edmonton.

Terrance made his professional debut this year, spending the entire season in the AHL, playing for the Hartford Wolf Pack. He scored eight goals and 17 points in 68 games. He scored his first career AHL goal in his fourth game. But, after two goals early in the season, he didn’t record another point until mid-December.

Neuenschwander played in several leagues this past season, seeing the most action in the SL where he played in 14 games with a 10-3 record, a 2.39 goals against average, a .913 save percentage, and one shutout. He also played two games for Team Switzerland at the World Juniors, winning one of his two games. After playing in Russia in the MHL, Gonchar came to North America this past season, playing for the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL. He scored 15 goals and 51 points in 65 games, impressive numbers for a first year defenseman.

A year later, Anaheim can be very happy with this deal. Things are a little more mixed for the Rangers, but they got what they wanted out of it. The Ducks traded away a middling prospect and dropped back 15 spots in the draft to bring in a player who helped them get back to the playoffs. While Kreider isn’t the player he once was, he especially made a difference on the powerplay for the Ducks. He scored eight goals and 17 points on the man advantage, helping Anaheim’s powerplay move up to 23rd in the league. Between that and a spot back in the playoffs, the Ducks can be very happy to give up very little and bring back a 20 goal scorer.

For the Rangers, this was a season of transition, and trading away one of their more popular players was just another sign of it. They moved up 15 spots in the draft, and while Terrance hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire, he could become a useful bottom six forward someday. With them entering a rebuild, it was time to start trading veterans for picks and prospects. If Gonchar, Terrance, or Neuenschwander ever become true NHL stars, then the scales of this trade could be tipped in either direction. But for now, this deal was a win for the Ducks, and just okay for the Rangers.

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June 13th, 2026