NHL Rumors: Oilers want Patrick Kane, plus Islanders miss again on top free agent
Anthony Scultore
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The Edmonton Oilers are rumored to be making Patrick Kane their Plan A in the latest rumblings concerning the superstar forward.
Bob Stauffer, host of Oilers Now on CHED 630 spoke with Gene Principe of Sportsnet to discuss the hockey offseason in Alberta.
“I’ve got no doubt in my mind, unless Patrick has some extenuating circumstances we don’t know about, he would come to Edmonton for sure,” Principe said. “I would take Phil Kessel as a Plan B. He could score 35 goals and eat just as many hot dogs playing with Leon (Draisaitl) or Connor (McDavid).”
NHL Rumors: Oilers want Patrick Kane
Kane, 33, has one year left on a deal that hits the cap at $10.5 million. He registered 92 points in 76 games last season and will return a haul of picks and prospects when he’s ready to waive his full no-move clause.
Now that the Chicago Blackhawks traded away both Alex DeBrincat and Kirby Dach at the draft, plus Brandon Hagel at the trade deadline, everyone feels Kane will want to move on.
However, unlike Jonathan Toews it appears Kane may be open to staying with the Hawks through the rebuild.
“You can win and still rebuild. I think there’s teams that have accelerated that too,” said Kane regarding the L.A. Kings last season.
“Same thing with the Rangers, right? They put out that memo a couple of years ago that they’re rebuilding, and all of a sudden they’re one of the best teams in the league a couple of years later,” Kane added. “Obviously, you bring a guy in like Panarin, that helps, and Shesterkin. He comes to the forefront. You need those young guys obviously to take next steps but I think it could be done quicker than maybe some people think.”
While it’s still very early to determine if Kane is going anywhere, he will no doubt be able to choose his destination. Past rumors indicate that the New York Rangers are considered a favorite to land him, but the allure of playing with McDavid and Draisaitl may be too much for Kane to pass up.
Why the Islanders missed out on Nazem Kadri
This hasn’t been a very good offseason for the New York Islanders. Their most notable move was shockingly dismissing Barry Trotz after they missed the playoffs.
Lou Lamoriello was reportedly in on Johnny Gaudreau, only to see him sign with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He also supposedly had a deal for J.T. Miller fall apart at the draft.
The latest speculation had the Islanders all but certain to land unrestricted free agent Nazem Kadri, but he signed with the Flames this week. So what gives? Why do the Islanders continue to miss out on big stars?
“One of the reasons the Islanders couldn’t get this done is because they couldn’t make a move to free cap space,” Elliotte Friedman noted on NHL Network. “I think the Islanders struggled to do that.”
Friedman cited the Flames ability to trade Sean Monahan to the Montreal Canadiens to make room for Kadri as being the key to why Calgary got it done.
In addition, Friedman believes that new contracts for defensemen Alexander Romanov and Noah Dobson are done.
The Islanders acquired Romanov from the Canadiens at the 2022 NHL Draft for the 13th overall pick. His deal will come in around $3M per Friedman and Dobson’s will be a much bigger number.
