Patrick Kane Trade Rumors Give Flashbacks to Giroux Last Year

You don’t need me to tell you just how much of an impact Patrick Kane has had on the Chicago Blackhawks since his debut with the club 16 years ago.

Kane, 33, is a four-time All-Star Game participant, three-time Stanley Cup champion, 2013 Conn Smythe Trophy winner, and 2015-16 Hart Memorial and Art Ross Trophy winner.

So far this year, he has 15 appearances under his belt, scoring two goals and ten assists along the way for a combined 12 points as of today.

A free agent at season’s end, Kane finds himself in an eerily similar situation to the one Claude Giroux, then of the Philadelphia Flyers, did around this time last year, though, in Giroux’s case, he did not ultimately end up dealt until the Saturday before the deadline.

Blackhawks: Patrick Kane trade talks sound familiar.

The list of similarities between the two situations goes on and on.

For starters, Kane has a 100% no-movement clause in his expiring eight-year, $84M contract that is currently playing out, just as Giroux did last year.

The two also have the same agent, CAA Sports’ Pat Brisson, and most importantly, both would be leaving the only NHL team they had ever known should Kane be dealt.

Brisson recently spoke with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic and said the following about the similar stories we’re seeing between Kane and Giroux.

“It’s very similar, yes. The respect that both players have for each organization. Claude will have his number in the rafters in Philly one day, I do believe, and obviously Patrick as well in Chicago. Both players are very respected on those teams. Claude at the beginning of last season wanted to see how things were going to go with the Flyers. We realized pretty soon, by November, that if he wanted a chance at trying to win a Cup last season, he would have to make a decision. And he picked Florida. The Panthers were one of the most attractive teams at the trade deadline.”

As of right now, Kane has yet to publicly announce that he would like to be traded. Should the 6-6 Blackhawks fail to find any consistent success, that may change soon.

Since he does have the no-movement clause in his contract, he is able to fully dictate which teams have a real shot at trading for him.

The fact that he is still owed $10.5M this season may make it difficult, as CapFriendly.com points out that only a few teams (Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, and Buffalo Sabres) even have the cap space available for such a move.

Among those teams, only the Sabres have more than six wins this season so Kane likely would not jump at the opportunity to join any of these clubs as they, like the Blackhawks, are all below .500 on the year.

There is always the possibility that a team acquiring Kane would unload cap space in other places. Teams like the Oilers and Rangers feel like one Patrick Kane away from being serious playoff contenders this year.