NHL Rumors: Patrick Kane with the Avs or Rangers, Kris Letang, and GM warns of dud deadline
Anthony Scultore
|
The NHL Rumors mill is pretty focused on the Trade Deadline which is now 9 days away and counting. Sometimes the chatter is also about potential offseason trades.
That’s exactly the case with this next rumor involving Chicago Blackhawks superstar Patrick Kane. Could he possibly be on the move this summer and just where would he land?
NHL Rumors: Patrick Kane with the Avs or Rangers
On Friday’s The Jeff Marek Show, the topic of a Patrick Kane trade was brought up with some interesting tidbits.
“This would involve Chicago eating some money assuredly,” Jeff Marek asked Elliotte Friedman. “Does [trading either Jonathan Toews or Patrick Kane] make sense to you?”
“It’s been reported and I think it’s true that Colorado has asked about Kane and I believe the Rangers have too,” Friedman responded. “It’s been a couple of times this year that teams have asked about Kane and I think those two teams have done it and it wouldn’t surprise me if there were more.”
Friedman added that he feels it’s likely to be an offseason decision and not happening at this trade deadline.
Kane, 33, is having another incredible season with 65 points in 55 games. Next season will be the final year of his contract that comes with a $10.5M AAV.
NHL Rumors: Kris Letang contract
There’s some talk lately about Kris Letang’s future with the Pittsburgh Penguins. With the team bound to make the playoffs, selling on their big pending UFA’s is off the table. Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Bryan Rust will be in Pittsburgh for the postseason. The question becomes what happens to them in the offseason.
“We’ve had discussions. We’ve made some progress. But we are not in a rush,” Pens’ President Brian Burke said via The Athletic (sub req). “Listen, we aren’t even to the trade deadline yet. You’ve got to keep that in mind. Those guys don’t need to be re-signed yet. They just don’t.”
While many believe Malkin and Rust will be back, there’s some thought that Letang will not despite GM Ron Hextall calling him a priority.
Sources say the ask from the Letang camp was for a five-year deal with an AAV that starts with a $7 (million). The Penguins, we’re told, are simply not willing to entertain Letang on a deal of that length.
Frank Seravalli, Daily Faceoff
So this is certainly going to be an interesting summer for the Penguins.
Ottawa Senators GM deadline warning
Things have been quiet, and many insiders feel that this will still be a very active trade deadline with several significant players on the move.
However, the Ottawa Senators GM has been ready to deal for awhile now and claims his phone isn’t really ringing. He also issued a warning to everyone not to get too hyped about March 21 (NHL Trade Deadline).
“I hate to be a ‘Debbie Downer’ but don’t get too excited for this trade deadline,” Pierre Dorion said. “In my all years as a GM, this has been the quietest. And when you talk to teams that could be off-loading players, quite a few of them say it’s been extremely quiet.”
