3 teams that should be rushing to their phones to acquire Chris Kreider from Rangers

The New York Rangers might be 12-6-1 on the season and comfortably in playoff position, but they haven't given fans much of a reason to get excited about their start to the year - no matter what their record says.

The Rangers have won just one of their seven games against teams currently in playoff positioning. It's great to see them take advantage of the bad teams, but the Rangers won't achieve their goal of winning the Stanley Cup if they can't beat the good teams.

With that in mind, general manager Chris Drury seems to be considering a major shake-up as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported on Monday.

Not only is team captain Jacob Trouba on the block, but the longest-tenured active Rangers player, Chris Kreider, is as well. Trouba being on the block isn't a surprise given the monstrosity of a contract he has and the team's willingness to dangle him over the offseason, but Kreider being involved in rumors is really interesting. If the Rangers are seriously considering moving him, several teams should be working hard to get a deal done.

3) The Ducks could look to make a surprising playoff push by acquiring Chris Kreider

The Anaheim Ducks were projected by most to finish at or near the bottom of the NHL standings once again, but even despite their 8-8-3 record, they sit just five points out of a playoff spot as of this writing. Is it likely that they get in? No, of course not. However, by acquiring Kreider, they could make things interesting.

Even with John Gibson missing all but four games this season, the Ducks have gotten surprisingly solid goaltending thanks to Lukas Dostal's awesome play between the pipes. The Ducks rank in the top half of the league allowing 3.00 goals per game thus far, and that could go up with Gibson now healthy. Their issue is their offense, and that's where Kreider can help.

The Ducks rank 24th in the NHL, averaging 2.53 goals per game. Troy Terry and Leo Carlsson are tied for the team lead with six goals. Kreider has nine goals himself and has scored 35 or more goals in each of the last three seasons.

Kreider can help score goals and can especially help a power play that has converted just 14.8 percent of the time (30th overall) with the man advantage. Kreider has three power play goals this season, and has averaged over 17 power play goals per season over the last three years. The Ducks as a team have nine power play goals overall in the 2024-25 campaign. His play five-on-five has been subpar for New York, but it would probably be an upgrade for a Ducks team without as much talent.

He might not get them over the top, but he can provide a major boost to a Ducks team that hasn't made the playoffs since the 2017-18 season.

2) Chris Kreider could help a struggling Sabres power play

Few teams, if any, are as hot as the Buffalo Sabres right now. Winners in seven of their last 10 games, the Sabres enter Monday's action with an 11-9-1 record - tied for third place in the Atlantic Division. If the regular season ended today, they'd have a spot in the playoffs for the first time since the 2010-11 season.

Despite rostering quality offensive players like Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin, and Alex Tuch, the Sabres rank 22nd in the NHL by converting 17.5 percent of the time on the power play. That's inexplicably below teams like the Columbus Blue Jackets, Calgary Flames, and Philadelphia Flyers.

Not only would adding Kreider help their power play, but he could also help lead this team that hasn't made the playoffs in over a decade back there. This Sabres team has tons of talent, but most of their high-end players are extremely young. In fact, only two of their players are over the age of 30. Kreider can bring much-needed goal-scoring and playoff experience to a team in dire need of some team success.

1) The Bruins are in dire need of scoring, which is exactly what Chris Kreider provides

The Sabres have been one of the most surprising teams in the NHL thus far in a good way, and the Boston Bruins have been one of the most surprising teams in the NHL in a bad way. The Bruins were expected to comfortably make the playoffs once again, especially after adding both Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov in free agency, but their play has left a lot to be desired.

At 10-9-3, the Bruins are tied with Buffalo for third place in the Atlantic Division. They've come so far from meeting expectations in the early going to the point where the team made the decision to fire head coach Jim Montgomery.

They've won each of their two games since making the coaching change, but have scored a total of three goals in those two games - underscoring this team's biggest issue. They simply don't score enough goals.

The Bruins rank dead last in the NHL, averaging 2.32 goals per game. Their power play is also at the bottom of the league, as it has converted just 12.8 percent of the time. As crucial as defense and goaltending is, it's really hard to win in this league without scoring enough goals.

Ideally, the Bruins would find a way to add more center depth - and Kreider would not be that - but his ability to put the puck into the back of the net can't be ignored. Adding Kreider could provide the team with a much-needed spark and another weapon, especially on the power play, as they look to lock in a playoff spot.