ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Chris Kreider has known for months that his long, decorated tenure with the New York Rangers would probably end this summer.
While the close of his run on Broadway is undeniably bittersweet, he's also thrilled to raise the curtain on his next chapter on the West Coast.
The Anaheim Ducks acquired Kreider and a fourth-round pick from the Rangers on Thursday in a trade for prospect Carey Terrance and a third-round pick.
Kreider waived his no-trade clause to join former New York teammates Jacob Trouba, Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano in Southern California after Rangers general manager Chris Drury decided he needed salary cap space more than Kreider, the left wing who played a key role in New York for more than a decade.
The 34-year-old Kreider, who was the Rangers' longest-tenured player, didn't deny a bit of melancholy about his New York exit.
“I think I’ve probably gone through the spectrum – anger, sadness, grief, whatever you want to call it,” Kreider said. “But I keep on arriving at gratitude for how I was treated, the opportunities I was given, for the connections I was able to make, the relationships, the friendships, the experiences that I was able to have. Playing in front of that fan base at that arena, playing in some of the games that I was able to play in, stuff that is so memorable and means so much to me, and stuff that I’ll take with me the rest of my life.”
He's taking it to Orange County, where he'll join a team that appears ready to emerge from a lengthy rebuilding phase under general manager Pat Verbeek. The Ducks have missed the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons, but they made a 20-point improvement in the standings this spring before hiring three-time Stanley Cup-winning coach Joel Quenneville last month to lead a roster impressively stocked with blue-chip talent.
“Having played with some of those guys, it’s a team that I’ve followed probably closer than other teams out West, just checking in on them, seeing how things are going," Kreider said. “It’s an incredibly deep roster. They’ve got some fantastic vets with great track records of winning, in the prime of their careers, and they’ve got a wealth of young talent, of speed, of size, of skill. ... There’s so much potential there. I think it’s a really exciting time to be a Duck.”
Kreider already works out with Ducks forward Trevor Zegras, the ebullient Westchester County native Kreider described as “born caffeinated.” Kreider also praised young Ducks centers Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish, calling Carlsson “a special player ... every team doesn't have a player like that.”
Kreider chose Anaheim for his exit from the only NHL franchise and town he has ever known. Although Kreider was born and raised north of Boston, he said New York City turned him into who he is today.
The Rangers drafted him 19th overall in 2009, and he debuted during the 2012 playoffs. He became a franchise mainstay during New York’s run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014.
The Rangers made 10 postseason appearances during Kreider’s parts of 14 seasons with the team, and he became the Original Six franchise’s career leader in playoff goals. Only Hall of Famers Rod Gilbert and Jean Ratelle have scored more goals in a Rangers sweater than Kreider, a two-time All-Star.
“I grew up in the city of New York,” said Kreider, who has 10 career 20-goal seasons. “I did. I spent my childhood in the Boston area, I went to school there, but I feel like I came into adulthood in the city of New York, became a man, matured, grew up and started a family. So yeah, a lot of emotions, but at the end of the day, just so much gratitude and appreciation.”
Drury is committed to shaking up his roster after New York missed the playoffs this spring following a run to the 2024 Eastern Conference final. Drury also traded Trouba, his captain, to the Ducks last December — and Trouba was decidedly less pleased than Kreider by the way his exit was handled by the Rangers.
Kreider scored just 22 goals last season while slowed by injuries, and he has two years left on his contract carrying an annual salary cap hit of $6.5 million. While Drury saw that commitment as a weight on his retooling project, Verbeek sees it as a fair price for Kreider's abilities and leadership.
“We took a big jump in the standings last year, and I think there’s a realization that the group is ready to take another step,” Verbeek said. "I think it’s intriguing for a player of Chris Kreider’s ability to come and play with really good young players that we have, and to not only lead them but to be a part of their growth. ... He's going to be able to do a lot of things for our young centermen, but our young centermen are going to be able to do a lot of things for him as well."
Verbeek praised Kreider's strength and net presence while lauding his skills on special teams, where Anaheim has struggled for years.
Kreider said he is already at work during his longest offseason in six years to make sure he's healthy, strong and ready for the Ducks' return to contention.
“To come into a group like the Anaheim Mighty Ducks — or is it just the Ducks now?” Kreider asked with a grin. “We'll keep the Mighty in there.”
AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno in Sunrise, Florida, contributed to this report.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
FILE - New York Rangers' Chris Kreider celebrates after scoring a goal during the second period of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning, in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs, May 22, 2015, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, file)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The state of Missouri is losing its third NFL franchise and the second in the past decade, and the decision by the Chiefs on Monday to depart their longtime home at Arrowhead Stadium for a new domed facility in Kansas may hurt the most.
The Chiefs announced their intention to move after Kansas lawmakers approved a bond package earlier in the day to help pay for the new facility. It will be built near Kansas Speedway and a retail district known as The Legends in Kansas City, Kansas — only about 30 miles from Arrowhead Stadium, but a distance that has perhaps never felt so far.
“Years ago as a kid, my family was homeless for a while and we lived in a motel not too far from the stadium," said Quinton Lucas, the mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, shortly after the team’s announcement. "I knew we struggled, but I believed nothing was cooler than living within a stones' throw of what I thought then and today is the greatest stadium in football.
“Like a lot of parents in Chiefs Kingdom, my single mother scraped some money together to get me to Arrowhead for my first game — 300-level upper deck for a 30-7 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills in 1993. I’ve been hooked ever since.”
Missouri lawmakers had been desperately trying to keep the Chiefs with their own funding package. They held a special legislative session in June backed by Gov. Mike Kehoe that authorized bonds covering up to 50% of the cost of new or renovated stadiums, plus up to $50 million of tax credits for each stadium and unspecified aid from local governments.
Lucas also had been working with local lawmakers in recent days on a counterproposal to keep the Chiefs in Missouri.
“We understand our very fair but very responsible financial offer of taxpayer support was surpassed by an even more robust public financing package in Kansas,” he said. “The Chiefs have a business to run and today made a business decision. We wish them well.”
The previous two NFL teams to leave Missouri were in St. Louis. The Cardinals, who came from Chicago in 1960, left for the Phoenix area in 1988 and now play in a state-of-the-art stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The Rams arrived from Anaheim, California, in 1995, then headed to Los Angeles in part because of their inability to secure funding to replace The Dome at America's Center.
The Rams recently built SoFi Stadium in the suburb of Inglewood, California, at a cost of more than $5 billion.
Other professional sports franchises to jilt Missouri include the Athletics of Major League Baseball, who left Kansas City for Oakland, California, following the 1967 season; the Kings of the National Basketball Association, who moved to Sacramento, California, in 1985; and the Kansas City Scouts of the National Hockey League, who eventually became the Colorado Rockies.
Sporting Kansas City, a club in Major League Soccer, once called Arrowhead Stadium home. It now plays its games on the Kansas side of the state line at Children's Mercy Park, close to where the Chiefs are expected to build their new stadium.
“I feel like Kansas won the Super Bowl,” said Ty Masterson, the president of the Kansas Senate.
The Chiefs and Kansas City Royals have played for more than five decades at the Truman Sports Complex, where Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums sit a couple hundred yards apart. Both are revered, the NFL stadium for its tailgating experience and loud home-field advantage, and the Major League Baseball stadium for its picturesque backdrop of glittering outfield fountains.
Both teams have had plenty of recent success there, too.
The Chiefs, who at 6-9 have been eliminated from playoff contention this season, had appeared in the past three Super Bowls and the previous seven conference title games. They have some of the biggest stars in the game, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who has led the Chiefs to three Super Bowl titles in five trips to the big game.
The Royals, who won their second World Series in 2015, returned to the playoffs following the 2024 season. They are led by Bobby Witt Jr., one of the bright young stars of the game, and are coming off a second consecutive winning season.
One of the prevailing questions now is whether the Royals will follow the Chiefs across the Kansas-Missouri line.
The Royals insist they will not play at Kauffman Stadium beyond the 2031 season, and their preference has been to build a new downtown ballpark. But a sales tax extension that would have paid for an $800 million renovation of Arrowhead Stadium and a new home for the Royals was soundly defeated last year by voters in Jackson County, Missouri, leaving both to look elsewhere.
Through an affiliate, the Royals have purchased the mortgage for a tract of land in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Kansas.
The announcement of the Chiefs' moving to Kansas generated widespread reaction among fans. Some were concerned about the price of tickets in a new facility, others about traffic flow and construction, and still others about the legacy of Arrowhead Stadium.
“I don’t think it is the greatest idea,” said Dustin Allen, who lives in Blue Springs, Missouri, and was visiting Union Station in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, on Monday. “I think that where they have it is a very nice spot. I will say that the traffic over there is always fun. I think it’s nice to have them downtown in some way, shape or form.”
Mike Robinson, a season ticket-holder from Kansas City, Kansas, was visiting a science museum inside the train station with his son.
“I’m pretty sure prices will go up,” he said. “That’s what I’m concerned about. A brand new stadium. Season ticket holders may not be able to keep up with their tickets with the rising prices.”
Analaysia Miller, a Chiefs fan from Kansas City, Kansas, didn’t have a strong opinion about the move since the team isn't leaving entirely. The new stadium will be about 35 miles (56 kilometers) west of the old one.
“It is just whatever they want to do,” she said as she visited Union Station with her three children. “As long as they are still in our city, representing for our city. That’s all that matters to me.”
Associated Press writers John Hanna, David Lieb and Heather Hollingsworth contributed.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, confers with members of the Legislature's staff before a meeting of legislative leaders to review a proposal for issuing bonds to help the Kansas City Chiefs build a new stadium on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
Kansas City Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt watches the start of a meeting of legislative leaders who had the power to decide whether the state issues bonds to help the Chiefs finance a new stadium on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
