The New York Rangers are in a transitional offseason. They fired Peter Laviolette and hired Mike Sullivan, who won two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Chris Drury has a lot of questions to answer after the roster collapsed last season. One of them has been answered, as the Rangers traded Chris Kreider to the Ducks. The 13-year Blueshirts veteran spoke with The Athletic about the handling of the trade.

“It was done in a really respectful fashion by the New York Rangers,” Kreider said, per Peter Baugh, Arthur Staple, and Katie Strang.

This is a stark difference from the way Barclay Goodrow and Jacob Trouba felt when they were sent packing. Goodrow, whom Drury signed as one of his first moves as GM, was put on waivers after the 2024 postseason. The Sharks picked him up, and they were one of the worst teams in the league last year. Goodrow has made his feelings about that process well known.

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Trouba was the captain of the Rangers before he was traded to the Ducks mid-season. Kreider now joins him after they were on the trade block together in the fall. Both of them had no-trade clauses, but Trouba's was handled differently. When he was dealt, Trouba said, “Yesterday morning it was, ‘Accept this trade or we’re scratching you.’ I said, ‘OK.' Then it was, ‘Accept this trade or you’re going on waivers.’”

The Rangers will look different when they hit the ice in the fall. Drury is working on clearing cap space, which could include more trades of long-term Broadway stars. Rumors have been swirling around Mika Zibanejad, but Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported that he has not been asked to waive his clause yet. Artemi Panarin is entering the final year of his deal, and K'Andre Miller needs a new one.