Kent Hughes reportedly gave up a 1st-round pick to sign Chris Kreider

Chris Kreider is heading to the Montreal Canadiens after a wild week that included a contract termination and a stalled Ducks trade.

Word came out Saturday night that his time in Anaheim was officially over, and the trade market for him never really got going.

Elliotte Friedman reported that clubs interested in taking Kreider off the Ducks' hands wanted them to attach a first or a second round pick.

Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek reportedly wasn't playing that game. He turned it down flat.

That left Kreider without a trade home, and it turned what looked like a swap into a straight contract termination instead.

Kreider then signed with Montreal on a one year, bonus-laden deal.

For a 35 year old power forward, that's about as low risk as it gets for both sides.

Inside the bonus-laden deal that lands Kreider in Montreal

The Canadiens gain a net-front presence who still knows how to finish, even if his shot volume has started to thin out with age.

Over his most recent season, Kreider posted 22 goals and 28 assists for 50 points across 75 games, with eight power play goals mixed in.

He's still a load in front of the net. Picture a fridge that somehow skates and redirects pucks past goaltenders.

Montreal finished last season with a 48-24-10 record and 106 points, good for sixth overall in the league standings.

Their season ended with a playoff series loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, a group that gave the Canadiens fits in front of their own net.

Adding a body like Kreider's to that mix, on a one year deal, is a low cost swing worth taking. It's also a real bet on a player entering his age-35 season.

Martin St-Louis now has to figure out where Kreider fits in a lineup that already leans on Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki up front.

Will he slot onto a scoring line, or become a specialist parked strictly for net-front duty on the power play? That part isn't settled yet.

Either way, the Canadiens just added a name that still scares goaltenders when he's camped on the doorstep. What he has left at 35 is the question nobody can answer yet.

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