It has been a foregone conclusion since the season ended that one of the top priorities this summer for Rangers general manager Chris Drury would be to trade franchise icon Chris Kreider. Late Tuesday night, reports online indicated Drury apparently has been engaged in talks with the Anaheim Ducks about shipping Kreider to Orange County.

According to reports, no deal had yet been agreed to, but talks were advanced and will continue Wednesday. If the two sides do agree to a deal that sends Kreider out West, he would be reunited with former teammate Jacob Trouba, the former Blueshirts captain who was traded to the Ducks in December.

Late Tuesday, NHL insider Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff reported that the Rangers and Ducks were talking. Multiple reports said the Ducks would absorb all of Kreider’s $6.5 million salary-cap hit, which would give the Rangers some much-needed relief as Drury seeks to freshen up the roster. At the moment, the Rangers have about $8.4 million available under the NHL’s $95.5 million cap for 2025-26, and they have several restricted free agents to re-sign, including defenseman K’Andre Miller, Will Cuylle, Matt Rempe, Adam Edstrom and Zac Jones.

Seravalli reported that talks between the Rangers and Ducks were focused on prospect Casey Torrance, 20, who played for the U.S. team at the World Junior Championships in January. Torrance is from the Mohawk reservation that borders the United States, Ontario and Quebec.

Kreider, 34, is the third-leading goal-scorer in Rangers history, and the franchise leader in playoff goals. He is also the longest-tenured Ranger and the last remaining link to the club’s last Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2014. He has played 1,006 games combined, in the regular season and playoffs for the Rangers over his 13-year career.

He has 326 goals and 582 points in 883 regular-season games for the Rangers, with his goal total trailing only Rod Gilbert (406) and Jean Ratelle (336). In the playoffs, Kreider has 48 goals and 76 points in 123 games. His 50 game-winning goals in the regular season are second to Gilbert’s 52, his 116 power-play goals are tied with Camille Henry for most in team history, and his 13 shorthanded goals are fourth on the franchise’s all-time list.

Kreider had a career-best 52 goals in 2021-22, and followed that with 36 and 39 goals the next two seasons. But he suffered through a disappointing, injury-riddled year in 2024-25, scoring 22 goals with eight assists in 68 games. And in late November, a memo from Drury to the other 31 NHL GMs was leaked to the media, revealing that Kreider and Trouba were among the players Drury was looking to trade. Trouba was traded three weeks later.