Elliotte Friedman Believes One Team Stands Out as the Favorite for Patrick Kane
The Chicago Blackhawks released their final roster for the 2022-23 season, and -- surprise, surprise -- they assembled one of the worst rosters in my lifetime. With the 2023 NHL Draft featuring the prize of a lifetime in Connor Bedard, any GMs whose teams aren't vying for the Stanley Cup are racing to the bottom, and Kyle Davidson must have lead shoes or something.
On top of fielding an AHL team (plus guys like Kane, Toews, and Jones [Seth]) Davidson also appointed a rookie head coach and has arguably the worst goaltending tandem in North America.
As such, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews' days are numbered in the Windy City. They both maintained they wanted to start the season before making any final decisions, but the writing has been on the wall for some time.
With regards to #88, Sportsnet Insider Elliotte Friedman suggests that there is one team who stands alone as the lead contender, barring any major shifts. According to Friedman, the New York Rangers are the most likely landing spot for Patrick Kane, which is supremely unsurprising.
Friedman does iterate that there is a lot of work to be done, but the Rangers make the most sense for Kane. The reunion with Artemi Panarin, the time-frame of New York's core, and fit. For every reason, this makes sense.
Still, things can change in an instant.
| 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 | ||||||