There was a time not long ago when Evander Kane’s name was trending in the NHL trade buzz cycle.
Kane for a top pair defenseman like Cam Fowler, Jake Muzzin, Alec Martinez or Ben Hutton.
I remember it well.
The rumors began during the week leading up to the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo. The talk persisted until the 2017 NHL trade deadline. Again, the Kane chatter erupted in March. It seemingly ended in June when Jason Botterill hired Phil Housley to replace Dan Bylsma.
All summer long, Botterill and Housley spoke glowingly and positively of Kane. When asked about Kane, the new GM and new head coach projected Kane as an integral player on the 2017-18.
To his credit, Kane was a role model player for Botterill and Housley. When Kane left Buffalo for the summer he went radio and internet silent. He was virtually invisible from his social media accounts.
Inquiring minds wanted to know: Were Botterill and Housley simply pumping Kane’s tires to increase his trade value? Were the Sabres truly trying to trade Kane to a west coast team? Or, were they being forthright?
The best trades are the ones you don’t make.
Kane has been Buffalo’s best, most consistent player this season. Kane has seemingly picked up where he left off last season when he scored 28 goals in 70 games played. Kane scored 25 of those goals at even strength.
Jack Eichel certainly enjoys playing alongside Kane. Their on-ice chemistry is undeniable. In June, Botterill traded for veteran sniping winger Jason Pominville. The Kane-Eichel-Pominville line played exceptionally well together for the first three games of this season. In an attempt to create more offense from the rest of his struggling forwards, Housley disbanded the hydro-electric power trio when the Sabre started their current four game roadie in San Jose.
The 9-15-29 power trio was reunited on the Vegas Strip where the Vancouver native played in the sixth game of his nine-year NHL career. The trio combined for 7 points. Eichel and Pominville chipped in two goals apiece. Kane had a goal and two assists.
On Tuesday night, Kane forced OT with a bunt-goal with 8.9 seconds remaining in regulation in Las Vegas. He also had two assists against the Golden Knights. Kane now leads the Sabres in scoring with 5 goals and 5 assists.
Ryan O'Reilly scored twice and Samson Reinhart potted one goal in the OT loss.
In San Jose last Thursday night, Kane played in his 500th career NHL game. In 502 career games, Kane has scored 161 goals and 146 assists for 307 points. He’s averaging 18:35 TOI per game in his NHL career.
This season, Kane is off to the hottest start of his career. For the first time in three years, Kane is healthy to begin the season. Healthy changes everything. Kane is also laser-focused.
Kane leads the Sabres in several offensive categories including points scored (10). He's the team leader in goals (5), assists (5), shorthanded goals (2), power play goals (1), and points per game. His current 1.67 PPG rate has him on pace to score 137 points this season. Kane has a .61 points per game rate in 2016-17. Kane ranks third on the team with 19:35 TOI. He’s second on the team with 15 hits and leads the group with 5 takeaways. Kane has 40 shots on goal (9 misses) which is 20 more shots on goal than Jack Eichel.
Kane picked a fine time to play the best hockey of his career. Kane is playing on an expiring contract and is going to get paid when he becomes a free agent at season’s end.
The last time Kane was in his unrestricted season he scored 30 goals. He's well on his way to equaling or exceeding the 30-goal plateau this season.
Can Botterill afford Kane on a long term extension? If not, maybe now is the time to revisit trading Kane for a top pair defenseman and other assets. You trade an asset at it's highest value. Botterill, a noted NHL salary capologist, must be extrapolating Kane's 1.67 points per game production over the remaining 76 games. If Botterill has learned anything about his Sabres team in the first five games it's that they still need a difference maker on the blue line. Housley's blue line is lacking a veteran play maker.
Trading a strength for weakness makes good business sense.
Kane's AAV is $5.25 million for this season.
At this current scoring and production rate, Kane's contract extension is going to be mammoth. Kane's market ahs already been set. The floor is Ryan Johansen's 8-year, $64 million contract which was finalized in July. The ceiling is Leon Draisaitl's 8-year, $68 million contract which features an $8.5M AAV.
Another factor for Botterill to consider is that Samson Reinhart will also become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2018. Botterill opted to wait until nest summer to re-sign the former second overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft. Reinhart started slowly this season playing center ice but has gotten his mojo working again after being moved to a simplified role on the wing.
Like his roommate Jack Eichel, Reinhart will be looking for an eight-year contract extension to stay in Buffalo. Don't worry, Reinhart won't be re-signing for 8 years and $80 million like Eichel Reinhart will be looking for a $6 million annual average value.
Botterill has to ask himself if he can afford to re-sign Kane and Reinhart for between $14 million and $14.5 million per season?
Botterill currently has $18.4 million in available salary cap for next season when Eichel's $10M AAV hits the books for the first time.
Trading Kane for a package that contains a top pair D-man and a prospect is a plausible option. The Vancouver Canucks learned Tuesday that veteran winger Loui Eriksson will be lost for the next 6-8 weeks with a sprained knee. Kane is a Vancouver native. It's no secret that Canucks GM Jim Benning was very interested in acquiring Kane during the summer of 2016. Kane for Ben Hutton trade rumors persisted until U.S Thanksgiving 2016. I'm told Sabres GM Tim Murray put the kibosh on the Kane trade talks when Benning abruptly re-signed his young D-man to a two year bridge contract extension. Perhaps Benning will contact or already has contacted Botterill about Kane's availability. Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher wanted to trade for Marcus Foligno for three seasons. Murray kiboshed the idea three different times. Botterill immediately green-lighted the draft day deal that sent Foligno and Tyler Ennis to the Twin Cities for Jason Pominville and Marco Scandella.
The Vegas Golden Knights are looking for a top six scoring forward and they presently have ten NHL defenseman on their roster. In the next two weeks, Vegas GM George McPhee will have to waive a D-man or two in order to create a roster spot for Shea Theodore, who has been playing in AHL Chicago. It's a joke that Theodore is in the minors right now. He's an NHL top four D. Might McPhee consider trading Shea Theodore in exchange for Evander Kane?
Perhaps Kane is not in play.
What if Botterill and Housley are sold on EK9 and opt to sign him for 8 more years? Will that initiate Samson Reinhart trade rumors? Reinhart, 21, is a North Vancouver native. He scored his first goal of the season in Buffalo's first win of the season in Anaheim on Sunday night. In 173 career games, Reinhart has scored 41 goals and 50 assists for 91 points. He's a high IQ players who thinks and processes the game at an above average rate. Reinhart is rounding into a complete NHL player.
The NHL trade rumor percolator will starting bubbling on or before U.S. Thanksgiving.
If not Kane, maybe Reinhart?
Vancouver will venture to Buffalo on Friday night.