Chicago Blackhawks celebrity Patrick Kane is within the ultimate 12 months of a monster ten-year, $84 million contract, and with the Hawks within the basement of the Nationwide Hockey League, there’s a really actual probability the sniper will get traded earlier than the NHL Commerce Deadline on Mar. 3.
Though there are rumblings that Kane will elect to stay with the workforce till the top of the season after which head to free company, the Hawks would clearly want to get a haul in return for the American winger slightly than dropping him for nothing later in 2023.
Kane has a full no-trade clause and can dictate his short-term future, however the 34-year-old has been adamant in eager to win, one thing that he gained’t be doing anytime quickly in Chicago. After dominating the league within the early 2010s and successful three Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013 and 2015, the Hawks are within the midst of a full-scale rebuild, and the way forward for each Kane and Canadian middle Jonathan Toews are in query.
Kane has reportedly had a number of conversations with workforce common supervisor Kyle Davidson, and because the workforce continues to tank and pray to the hockey gods for the No. 1 general decide to win the Connor Bedard sweepstakes, it might take advantage of sense to inventory the cabinets by buying and selling Kane and Toews earlier than Mar. 3. Listed below are the finest touchdown spots for the previous first general decide.
New York Rangers
The Rangers have been oh-so-close to reaching the Stanley Cup ultimate final season, getting out to a 2-0 lead within the Jap Convention Last in opposition to the Tampa Bay Lightning earlier than dropping 4 straight to bow out within the ultimate 4. New York is in win-now mode, they usually merely don’t have the offensive depth essential to recover from the hump because the workforce is constructed.
Apart from Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider, the workforce is starved for top-end wingers, particularly with the middling manner No. 1 general decide Alexis Lafreniere continues to play. The star energy is there on offense, protection with Adam Fox, and in internet with celebrity and final 12 months’s Vezina winner Igor Shesterkin, however the workforce merely wants stronger wingers.
Broadway has appeared like a believable touchdown spot for Kane from the beginning, particularly contemplating the very fact they’ve two 2023 first-round picks. They might provide the Blackhawks a primary and a second for Kane, and nonetheless have a first-round choice in a loaded 2023 draft. Not many groups might make a greater pitch to Patrick Kane, who grew up in Western New York, than the Authentic Six workforce that performs at Madison Sq. Backyard.
Colorado Avalanche
The defending Stanley Cup champions have been completely decimated by accidents this season. Nathan MacKinnon, Valeri Nichushkin, Gabriel Landeskog and Cale Makar have all been on the shelf for prolonged absences, and captain Landeskog isn’t anticipated to be again anytime quickly.
The Avalanche stay a powerhouse within the Central Division, and have returned to kind after struggling for the final month, successful six video games in a row and slowly getting more healthy. Patrick Kane could be nothing however a rental for the Avs, however placing him on a line with both MacKinnon or Mikko Rantanen would instantly make it among the finest within the NHL, and common supervisor Chris MacFarland wouldn’t be doing his job if he didn’t at the very least kick the tires on Kane.
The Avalanche are a primary candidate to repeat as back-to-back Stanley Cup champions with the star energy they boast, and including Kane would solidify them for an additional deep playoff run, even when they needed to promote the farm to do it.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes are one other apparent option to make a push for Patrick Kane, particularly after dropping Max Pacioretty to a season-ending damage only a week after getting him again within the lineup. For the reason that 2019 postseason, Carolina ranks thirteenth in objectives per recreation, and simply can’t appear to recover from the hump since getting swept by the Boston Bruins within the 2019 Jap Convention Last.
Kane could be an enormous addition for the Hurricanes, on a workforce that already boasts star wingers in Andrei Svechnikov, Martin Necas (who’s within the midst of a breakout season), and Teuvo Teravainen. Kane has the flexibility to rework a gifted ahead group that simply hasn’t been capable of take it to the following degree in latest postseason tries.
Though the Hurricanes is also searching for a centre in Vancouver Canucks star Bo Horvat, Kane has confirmed he generally is a gamebreaker within the playoffs, which is strictly what the Hurricanes want.
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres have been rejuvenated within the Atlantic Division this 12 months and are on the verge of a playoff spot heading into the All-Star break. That’s primarily as a result of breakout of younger superstars Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin, together with regular goaltending and the emergence of an elite first line that options Thompson, Alex Tuch and Jeff Skinner.
The principle draw for Kane in Buffalo is {that a} transfer could be a homecoming for the celebrity. Not solely did Kane develop up within the metropolis, he nonetheless lives within the space through the offseason, even bringing the Stanley Cup to Niagara Falls after the Hakws gained it in 2010.
The workforce has a couple of million {dollars} in cap area to work with, and a plethora of younger expertise together with first-round picks in Casey Mittelstadt and Peyton Krebs. The Sabres won’t need to empty the cabinet by making a splash for Kane, particularly as they’re most likely nonetheless a couple of years away from Stanley Cup rivalry, however make no mistake: Kane in Buffalo could be electrical.
