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Lately, American players have been requesting trades to return to the United States.
Dylan Larkin is already in the States but wants to stay there; Connor Hellebuyck wants to leave Winnipeg; and both Tkachuk brothers have left Canadian teams for the Florida Panthers.
Chris Kreider, on the other hand, did the opposite. The 35-year-old American went from New York to Anaheim to… Montreal. And it's not as if he was traded to the Canadiens without having a say in the matter. No, he deliberately signed with Montreal.
The Habs have (finally) gotten some reinforcements → https://t.co/KwSGKiFLbR
— DansLesCoulisses (@DLCoulisses) September 12, 2026
Of course, there are probably plenty of Americans who wouldn't mind moving from the U.S. to the northern part of the country.
But in recent months—or even years—that hasn't necessarily been the trend across the NHL. Kreider is one of those players who just wants to win. Whether in Canada, the U.S., or Mexico… his goal is to hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time in his career.
He doesn't see borders, and that mindset is perfect. There will always be players like Hellebuyck or the Tkachuks who view Canada as the enemy. But we need more players like Kreider.
I never thought I'd say that one day, hehe.
At 35, Kreider is going to bring a nice offensive punch. He probably won't play on the first power play like he did with the Ducks, but the second PP just got a lot more dangerous.
Caufield-Slafkovsky-Demidov
Suzuki-Hutson;
Newhook-Kreider-Dach
Bolduc-Dobson.
That's two strong power-play units right there.
We'll see Martin St-Louis's new weapon in Habs colors for the first time on Monday at the team's golf tournament.
Overtime
Two days ago, Elliotte Friedman (32 Thoughts) revealed that teams were asking the Ducks for first- and second-round picks to acquire the forward.
A few days later, the Habs signed him to a one-season deal worth $2.15 million (minimum). Obviously, Anaheim wasn't going to give him up for free…
Elliotte Friedman: Re: Chris Kreider contract termination/Ducks: People were asking for first- and second-round picks; we'll take Kreider, but you've got to give us a first or a second… Verbeek was like, “We're not doing that” – 32 Thoughts (9/10)
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NHLRR: Kreider signed with Montreal on a one…— NHL Rumor Report (@NHLRumorReport) September 12, 2026
