Yet Another Team Enters the Fray in Patrick Kane Sweepstakes
Patrick Kane being traded seems like all but a certainty at this point. The Blackhawks are committed to stripping down the roster, with little intent on fielding any sort of respectable team in 2022-23 with two game-changers at the top of the 2023 draft in Connor Bedard and Matvei Michkov.
So far, we know that Toronto, Edmonton, and New York (Rangers) are all on Patrick Kane's list of preferred destinations. The 3x Stanley Cup champion does possess a full no-move clause, so it is totally within his control where he winds up. That said, a fourth team has reportedly entered the conversation as a legitimate landing spot for Kane, although I do have questions.
According to Nick Alberga (@thegoldenmuzzy), the Columbus Blue Jackets are to to be considered legitimately in the race, despite the fact they have $416,000 in cap space per CapFriendly.com.
Yeah, yeah...with what cap space?
Any team that acquires Patrick Kane will likely be tight against the salary cap, making the likelihood of maximum salary being retained by both Chicago and a third-party broker pretty high. And Columbus definitely has players they can ship out, such as Gustav Nyquist. But I gotta say as an Erik Gudbranson fan, that signing looks worse everyday for Columbus. They could really use that $4 million right about now.
Kekäläinen has shown he's not afraid to make big waves, so it makes sense that he is sniffing around Kane. I maybe wonder about fit, but if Columbus moves Nyquist and opens up a spot on their left side, Kane would be a clear upgrade. Kane's representation has expressed the desire to stand pat until closer to the season opener, so I wouldn't anticipate anything in the super short-term.
| POLL | ||
AOÛT 28 | 213 ANSWERS Yet Another Team Enters the Fray in Patrick Kane Sweepstakes Should Columbus trade for Patrick Kane? | ||
| Yes | 89 | 41.8 % |
| No | 124 | 58.2 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Zachary Werenski | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| Sean Monahan | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jesper Bratt | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Frederick Gaudreau | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jack Hughes | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Mackenzie Weegar | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Kent Johnson | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Alexander Wennberg | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Mitchell Chaffee | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Coronato | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Marcus Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nick Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Conor Geekie | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brandon Hagel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Stefan Noesen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Corey Perry | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Igor Sharangovich | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dmitry Voronkov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 19 | 16 | 3 | - | 32 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||