Kreider Signs 1-Year Deal With Canadiens — SkimNews
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- Chris Kreider signed a one-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens announced Saturday, carrying a $2.15 million AAV and a bonus structure that could push his total compensation to as much as $5 million next season.
- The Anaheim Ducks placed Kreider on waivers last week and mutually terminated his contract, with GM Pat Verbeek saying the move was about creating "salary cap flexibility."
- Kreider, 35, had one season remaining on his original seven-year, $45.5 million deal with the Rangers that carried a $6.5 million AAV; he has played 958 NHL games, almost all in New York.
- Kreider has scored at least 20 goals in 11 of his 14 NHL seasons and is regarded as one of the league's best net-front players, tallying 22 goals and 50 points in 75 games last season.
- The Ducks were forced to match an offer sheet for Leo Carlsson at $18 million per season — now the NHL's third-highest salary — and have rising forward Cutter Gauthier also due for a new contract after he led Anaheim in goals and points last season.
- Kreider remains a Canadiens villain dating back to a 2014 Eastern Conference final breakaway collision with goaltender Carey Price that sidelined Price with a knee injury and helped New York eliminate Montreal.
- The Canadiens are coached by Martin St. Louis, Kreider's former Rangers teammate, and are trying to take the next step after reaching the 2026 Eastern Conference final, where they lost to eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina.
Why it matters: Kreider takes roughly a two-thirds pay cut — from a $6.5 million AAV to $2.15 million — to join a Montreal club that just reached the 2026 Eastern Conference final and is coached by his former Rangers teammate St. Louis, giving the Canadiens a proven net-front scorer at a bargain rate. For Anaheim, the termination sheds salary with extensions looming for Carlsson ($18M AAV) and restricted free agent Gauthier.
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