IRVINE — Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba have been key assets for the Ducks, but not long ago they had for-sale signs dangling around their necks.

They began last season as the New York Rangers’ longest-tenured player and captain, respectively, but each started this campaign in the opposite corner of the country. On Monday, they’ll return to Midtown Manhattan for the first time since Trouba was dealt last December and Kreider was shipped out over the summer.

The low point was a Nov. 24, 2024, memo from Rangers GM Chris Drury that let all 31 competing NHL franchises know that he was looking to blow up their successful leadership group.

Prior to that communiqué, the Rangers were 12-6-1. They had been among the NHL’s elite, amassing a .688 points percentage across the prior season to the st

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