Five possible destinations for new UFA Chris Kreider

After a single season in Anaheim, Chris Kreider and the Ducks officially agreed to terminate his contract earlier this week and, after the winger passed through waivers unclaimed on Thursday, he is now an unrestricted free agent. In fact, he’s likely the best UFA left on the market.

So, there are a few things to consider about what comes next.

1. Why did it come to this?

We’ll get to Kreider’s production in a bit, but this really seems to be a numbers game for the Ducks. After Leo Carlsson’s $18 million offer sheet, Anaheim had less than $10 million in cap space, but still needed to sign Cutter Gauthier. And even though that player doesn’t have offer-sheet leverage, he does hold some cards seeing as though he was the team’s leading goal-scorer and point-getter last season. The Ducks now have $15.573 million in cap space and Gauthier figures to take up most of that when he signs.

2. What kind of value would Kreider want?

His old contract came with a $6.5 million AAV and he was about to head into the final season of it. But he was to be paid $5 million in actual money this season, including a $1 million signing bonus that has already been paid out. So Kreider was to earn $4 million through this coming regular season. If he seeks to pick his destination and recoup the money lost in the contract termination, a $4 million AAV could be sought.

3. What does he have left?

Kreider is 35 years old and scored 22 goals for the Ducks last season, but it’s worth pointing out that 13 of those goals had been scored by Dec. 1. He notched just two goals in the last 23 regular-season games. He did, however, score a goal and two assists (including an empty-net helper) in the Game 6 win over Edmonton that delivered the Ducks a series win. He then scored one goal and two points in Round 2 versus Vegas. His shooting percentage remained close to his career average, but his shot total was close to a career-low.

4. Where would he fit in?

This is what we’ll look at a little closer. When Elliotte Friedman first reported that Kreider and the Ducks would part ways, he noted that “Kreider has indicated he desires to return east, closer to family where he spent the first 13 years of his career, and will not report if claimed somewhere he prefers not to play.”

So we’ll go with that and eliminate western teams from consideration.

We’ll also consider cap space. While it is possible Kreider could join somewhere for $1 or $2 million, for our exercise we’ll explore who could take him on for a one-year, $4 million AAV deal so that he’d be made whole on the money he would have made in Anaheim this season. That means the Tampa Bay Lightning, who certainly are a possibility to land Kreider, won’t make the list below because they have $3.2 million in cap space. They could move money around, or Kreider could sign for less than our assumed number in a non-tax state, so do keep the Lightning in the back of your mind.

We also want to consider lineup fit. On that note, in some ways the Montréal Canadiens would make sense on paper. They have the cap space ($9.783 million), could use another scorer and certainly another player to drive the net and be physical, but there is some history that might be tough to get over. Kreider, of course, bowled over Carey Price in Game 1 of the 2014 Eastern Conference Final, knocked him out for the series and more or less ended Montreal’s Cup hopes. Fans might never get over that and so, we will also keep the Habs off the list.

Possible destinations for UFA Chris Kreider

Boston Bruins: They have $5.3 million in cap space so the opportunity could be there. Kreider is also a Massachusetts native and went to Boston College after the Rangers drafted him 19th overall in 2009. The Bruins are also looking to hang in with a tough Atlantic Division, and added J.J. Peterka to their group in an off-season trade. Now, Peterka plays left wing just like Kreider does, but the latter could be an upgrade on Casey Mittelstadt, who is currently slotted on the second line. Where it gets a little muddy is what that would mean for James Hagens, who is also likely to start on the left side. There would be some roster ramifications to this, but Kreider is an intriguing veteran fit here and it would bring him home at the back-end of his career.

Buffalo Sabres: The Sabres lost Alex Tuch in free agency after he scored 33 goals last season and would have to replace him with internal options. They have $5.1 million in cap space and could use another scorer with some physicality to him on the left side. If Kreider were to sign here and take up one more roster spot from a younger player, then perhaps the Sabres would feel a little more comfortable with moving a young asset who maybe would have been needed this season, for Connor Hellebuyck.

Carolina Hurricanes: It’s been a quiet off-season for Carolina, but that’s partly because they are already deep and just won the Stanley Cup. Still, they have $8.18 million in remaining cap space — an unusually high amount for a defending champ — so fitting Kreider in money-wise won’t be an issue. Where would he fit in the lineup? Kreider would be interesting to see in the middle-six, either ahead of or just below Taylor Hall on the left side.

Pittsburgh Penguins: They probably don’t fall into the Stanley Cup hopeful category like other teams here, and most of Pittsburgh’s recent pickups have been younger players with long-term upside. But they did make the playoffs last season, and did re-sign Evgeni Malkin for one year, so the door remains open for a little longer. The Penguins have nearly $11 million in cap space and they lost 31-year-old Anthony Mantha to free agency after he scored 33 goals last season. Kreider might help get some of those goals back. And, hey, if there’s a chance you’d play with Sidney Crosby, or opposite Evgeni Malkin on the wing, it could be an appealing landing spot for a short time.

New York Islanders: It’s possible Kreider could head back to the Rangers, where he played 13 seasons, but they have less than $1 million in cap space and the abrupt way it ended last time may be where that story ends. But if Kreider wants to return to the area, what about the Islanders? They have $4.159 million in cap space and signed Matias Maccelli to a one-year deal this past summer to likely play in the middle-six on the wing. Kreider would surely be an upgrade. There is possibly more opportunity for Kreider to fit on the left side anywhere in this Islanders lineup than there would be on other teams appearing on this list. And we know the Islanders want to get back to being a playoff team.