Patrick Kane will likely go down as the greatest United States-born hockey player ever. Already at the age of 34, he has three Stanley Cups, 1,200 career points, 430 career goals, and many more accolades.
The once-powerful Blackhawks have fallen on tough times and may look to break up the remaining parts of one of the NHL’s greatest dynasties. The Blackhawks have missed the playoffs four of the last five seasons.
With a team that is nowhere near competitive enough to give Kane one last run for a Stanley Cup, they could send the superstar for prospects and picks to help them rebuild. The question would then move to what team could give Kane one final cup.
The first thing to note is that Kane is having a down year. The once-Hart trophy winner is at less than a point-per-game pace and will be an unrestricted free agent next year. This will drastically drive down the price tag on Kane meaning teams that have the cap space and are contending will be all in on acquiring Kane.
Boston Bruins
The first team that could make a huge splash is the Boston Bruins. The Bruins are on pace to break the NHL record for points in a season and could slot Kane on the first line with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron while moving David Pastrnak back to the second line, where he played a decent amount of time last year.
The Bruins could also move Kane to the second line with another former Hart trophy winner in Taylor Hall with David Krejci at the center. Regardless of which line he would be placed at, he would help a power play that already ranks 6th in the league.
Lastly, the Bruins core is all aging, and this might be their last chance to make a run for the cup, which would cement the legacies of Kane, Bergeron, and Marchand and establish one for Pastrnak, who was not a part of the Bruins team that won back in 2011.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes have been many people’s pick to break through and make the Stanley Cup Finals the last couple of seasons but have fallen short each time. Bringing in Brent Burns, having a career year, has helped the back-end drive scoring.
However, the injury to Max Pacioretty has affected forward depth, and bringing Kane would help solidify the forward group. Not to mention for a power play that ranks outside the top 20 in the league, Kane would greatly improve their unit.
Carolina will need to make a slash in some way at the deadline to stay in contention with the other top teams in the east, and there is no better way than to bring the former Conn Smythe winner to Raleigh.
New York Rangers
No bigger stage in sports than the bright lights of New York and a player nicknamed showtime sounds like a match made in heaven. Last year, New York ran to the Eastern Conference Finals before being outmatched by Tampa.
For a team that is not getting the production from young top picks in Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere, the rangers still have been one of the best teams in the east with a balanced offensive attack and solid defense.
However, they have been relying on all-world goaltending from Igor Shesterkin and production from certain players that may not be sustainable. Bringing in the offensive skill of Kane could make them a serious force to be reckoned with in the eastern conference.
Wildcard: Minnesota Wild
A trade within the division and to an arch-rival seems impossible to pull off. But for a team like the Wild, who have been looking for two decades to take the next step from mediocre to title contender, Kane might be able to do that.
Now, the reason the Wild is a wild card is they are in cap hell with the contracts of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. This means the Blackhawks would need to retain most, if not all, of Kane’s contract.
Not to mention that the Wild also would need to increase the trade package for Kane because of this, and with no guarantee to re-sign him this offseason, the risk will go up for the Wild.
But, for a player whose career highlight type consists of 50 percent of his plays occurring against the Wild, Minnesota fans will find it refreshing to see him make plays for their team, not against it.
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