Reasons for and Against the Rangers Still Trading for Patrick Kane

Patrick Kane’s “Chelsea Dagger” days might soon be behind him. The Chicago Blackhawks are finally embracing their long overdue rebuild and might be sending the future Hall of Famer off in a trade.

It would truly be the end of an era for the Blackhawks and their mini three-Stanley Cup-winning dynasty.

Kane is in the final year of the eight-year contract he signed back in 2015 and is a pending unrestricted free agent. Not only that, but Kane’s contract also includes a full no-trade clause.

Kane controls where he might be sent to, and it’s being reported the two places he’d consider are the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Rangers. I can make a compelling case both for and against the New York Rangers trading for the future Hall of Famer.

I’ve long thought that New York would be the perfect place for Patrick Kane. To recap the reasons, New York has a glaring hole at right wing in their top six. Also, it would seem all too perfect the NHL’s best American-born player would end up on the team in the largest American media market.

Kane himself was even sad the Tarasenko trade could have potentially taken away the possibility of sending him to New York.

Kane still considers the Rangers a potential destination for himself.

Assuming Tarasenko stays on the top line with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, Kane would be the second-line ring wing. That would reunite him with his old pal Artemi Panarin. The chemistry they had in Chicago was good enough to get Panarin the Calder Trophy in his rookie year.

There has been some concern over the lack of chemistry between Vincent Trocheck and Panarin, but that should be nothing Patrick Kane can’t fix.

Well, the Rangers filled that hole in their top six at right wing very nicely by acquiring Vladimir Tarasenko from the St. Louis Blues. The Rangers still have another spot up for grabs in their top six at right wing. That position is currently being filled by Jimmy Vesey.

Since acquiring Tarasenko, Kane has become more of a “want” than a “need” for the Rangers. Chicago won’t be giving the sweetheart deal St. Louis gave to New York. The asking price for Kane will be much more.

You have to imagine Chicago comes to the table asking for the Rangers’ 2023 first-round pick (they have two first-round selections because of the Nils Lundkvist to the Dallas Stars trade, one of which was traded away in the Tarasenko deal) and some combination of Vitali Kratsov, Kaapo Kakko, Alexis Lafreniere, Filip Chytil, and maybe even K’Andre Miller. Go big or go home, Chicago.

It’s also been reported by multiple outlets that Kane’s injury might have scared away the Rangers from making a trade prior to Tarasenko becoming available. Those concerns were big enough to derail a trade the first time around.

Now that Kane has gone from a “need” to a “want”, the cost might be too high considering what Chicago would want and with New York’s concerns.

Of course, none of this has taken into consideration any cap concerns. This is purely from the perspective of hockey and hockey operations. Patrick Kane might still fit New York like a glove. I’ll let the armchair capologists worry about the money.