NHL Rumors: Patrick Kane unlikely to finish season with Blackhawks
Anthony Scultore
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When it comes to NHL Rumors, Patrick Kane is this season’s Jack Eichel.
For months last year, there was daily speculation about where Eichel was going to land. Most of the previous summer talks circled around the New York Rangers, Vegas Golden Knights, and Boston Bruins as potential destinations.
After being stripped of the captaincy in September, the Buffalo Sabres finally sent him to Vegas in a multi-player deal. The Golden Knights assumed his full contract, which has four years remaining at $10 million, and let him have artificial disc replacement surgery.
The rest is now history.
When it comes to the Chicago Blackhawks superstar, there’s less drama but just as much intrigue.
NHL Rumors: Patrick Kane unlikely to finish with Chicago
The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta finally confirmed what everyone has been talking about this offseason: Kane is going to be traded by the next NHL Trade Deadline.
“I think there’s an understanding from Kane’s side that he’s probably not going to finish the season with the Chicago Blackhawks,” Pagnotta said on NHL Network. “Whether he starts the season with them, that’s a different story. It’s going to come down to what the Blackhawks want to do.”
According to Pagnotta, trade talks have picked up regarding Kane as the season approaches.
“We’re hearing noise out of Toronto, Edmonton, Columbus, and a few other teams,” he noted. “Dallas has interest and you could add Colorado to the mix, the New York Rangers and so on. One thing is certain, [Kane] has made peace that he’s not going to finish this season with the Blackhawks.”
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.
Where will Kane land?
While there are a lot of teams naturally interested, where Kane will land will depend on several factors:
- Who has the pieces the Hawks wants (Top prospects and high picks)
- Who is willing to part with those pieces
- Who has the cap space to take Kane’s
- Will the Blackhawks retain 50% of his cap hit
- Will a third party need to be involved
Right now, there’s a lot of talk regarding the Edmonton Oilers, but both the Colorado Avalanche and New York Rangers are already known to have discussed a Patrick Kane trade.
“It’s been reported and I think it’s true that Colorado has asked about Kane and I believe the Rangers have too,” Elliotte Friedman said last March. “It’s been a couple of times this year that teams have asked about Kane and I think those two teams have done it.”
At the end of the day, the Rangers are in better position with regards to a package for Kane. Meanwhile, the Avs have more cap room heading into the season.
What needs to be remembered is that cap space is deal with daily. If a team has $1 million in cap space, that’s equivalent to around $4.5M in salary they can take on at the deadline.
Let the Patrick Kane trade saga begin.
