Veteran forward Chris Kreider didn’t stay a free agent long, signing a one-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, the team announced.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but ESPN reported that Kreider’s deal has a $2.15 million average annual value and could be worth as much as $5 million next season if certain conditions are met.
The Anaheim Ducks terminated Kreider’s contract on Thursday, one day after the 35-year-old went unclaimed on unconditional waivers.
Kreider, a Massachusetts native, reportedly was looking to sign with a team in the East. He had one season left — at a $6.5 million average annual value against the salary cap — on a seven-year, $45.5 million extension he signed while with the New York Rangers in February 2020.
The Ducks said the move gives them more financial flexibility under the salary cap. They are trying to re-sign restricted free agent forward Cutter Gauthier, 22, who led the team with 41 goals and 69 points last season.
“I want to thank Chris for his efforts last year and recognize the professionalism he and his representatives demonstrated throughout this process,” Anaheim general manager Pat Verbeek said in a statement Thursday. “Our rationale here is straightforward: We needed to create salary-cap flexibility, and this accomplishes that.”
The Ducks matched a five-year, $90 million offer sheet sent to star center Leo Carlsson by the Philadelphia Flyers in July — with his $18 million average annual value now the third highest for any NHL player this coming season. The team also signed forward A.J. Greer to a four-year deal and defenseman Pavel Mintyukov to a five-year contract this summer.
Kreider recorded 50 points (22 goals, 28 assists) in 75 games during his only season with Anaheim in 2025-26. He added seven points (two goals, five assists) in 12 playoff games.
He played his first 13 NHL seasons with the New York Rangers, who drafted him in the first round (19th overall) in 2009. He has 632 points (348 goals, 284 assists), 609 penalty minutes and a plus-117 rating in 958 career games with New York (2012-25) and Anaheim.
Kreider led the NHL with 26 power-play goals and 11 game-winning goals during the 2021-22 season, when he scored a career-high 52 goals.
The Rangers traded him to the Ducks in June 2025 with a fourth-round draft pick for forward prospect Carey Terrance and a third-round selection that year.
Kreider has 83 points (50 goals, 33 assists) in 135 career playoff games.
He was a teammate on the Rangers in 2013-15 with Martin St. Louis, now the Canadiens’ coach.
