NHL Rumors: Patrick Kane decision on trade expected as early as today
Anthony Scultore
|
Patrick Kane could very well decide on whether or not he’ll waive his no-move clause as early as today. According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic after speaking with Kane’s agent Pat Brisson, the decision is expected this week between Tuesday and Thursday.
Tonight, Kane could very well be playing his last home game for the Chicago Blackhawks against the Vegas Golden Knights, a team he may very well be playing for soon.
There has been plenty of speculation that Kane, who led Chicago to three Stanley Cup championships and won the Hart (MVP) and Art Ross (scoring) trophies during his career, could be dealt by the Blackhawks. Chicago is in full rebuild mode and occupies last place in the Central Division with a meager 41 points.
Patrick Kane decision expected soon
Kane, 34, has scored 14 goals this season, including five over the past two games. He received a thundering ovation from the United Center crowd of 20,979, the second-largest turnout of the season, after being named the No. 1 star of the game on Sunday posting a hat-trick.
“There’s a lot of different reports out there, and not all of them are true. So, you gotta be careful what you listen to,” Kane said afterwards. “I don’t know. I think if I knew (what I wanted to do), I’d probably make the decision already.”
Kane is in the final year of an eight-year contract signed on July 9, 2014, and has the final say in a potential trade because of a full no-movement clause he would have to waive. Two teams that were reported to be potential trade partners for the Blackhawks include the New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs, who have already made major deals with St. Louis. The Rangers recently traded for Vladimir Tarasenko and the Leafs picked up Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari from the Blues on Friday.
Vegas, Dallas and Edmonton have also been mentioned as possible destinations. The Rangers reportedly were his preferred choice.
“It’s not the happiest I’ve been to hear about a trade,” Kane said after the Rangers traded for Tarasenko. “If things are going to happen, that was a team I was definitely looking at. It seems like they kind of filled their void and went ahead and made a deal.”
Of course, there’s still a path cap-wise for the Rangers to add Kane. It would take a lot of cap gymnastics for it to happen, and a third team would need to get involved.
Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson, who is working with Kane’s agent on potential trade prospects, was asked if this could be Kane’s swan song with Chicago.
“It is what it is,” Davidson said. “It’s just a situation that it is, so it’s like, what are you going to do about it? That’s kind of where we’re at?”
–Field Level Media contributed to this article