The fall out from the Rangers/Blues trade continues to come to light, with Patrick Kane talking about his disappointment that it seems like the Rangers are no longer an option for him. "If things were going to happen, that was a team I was definitely looking at. It seems like they kind of filled their void and went ahead and made a deal. It is what it is," he said. Now here’s the thing. I love Kane. I want him to be in a Hawks sweater till the day he retires, but his comments Friday about the trade just didn’t sit right with me.
He is sitting there, woe is me about losing what arguably was his first choice in trade destination. That’s all fine and good, but its hard to feel bad for the guy when his agent says that he is going to wait until 7-10 days from the deadline before he decides on his future. This version of Kaner is not going to be the one to set the market; teams are not going to wait and wait to see if he’s going to waive his NMC or not. There are other options out there and teams aren’t going to lose out on them for the chance Kane decides to leave. Kane has earned the right to make this decision at the pace he feels most comfortable with, but he can’t be upset when teams aren’t willing to wait on him.
Insider Pierre LeBrun about an hour ago sent out an interesting tweet regarding Jake McCabe:
Jake McCabe is drawing steady interest from contenders. Signed for 2 more years after this season at a $4M AAV. Sense from sources around league is that the asking price from Blackhawks includes a 1st-RD pick. And if Hawks retain salary making him a $2M player, price increases...
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 11, 2023
Who would have thought that McCabe would be the guy to land the Hawks another first. The feedback I have been reading has, of course, been negative, because why would anyone besides Hawks fans take Hawks news positively? Many say that KD is high and any GM who does this should be fired as the trade call goes through. Those are some of the worst takes and just proves that no one watches what other players are doing. Trading a late 1st rounder for a top four defenseman who is still under contract for another two years at a reasonable cap hit should be something all playoff teams should be looking into. He is having a career year and putting up great defensive numbers on a terrible hockey team. A team like Toronto who is looking for a defensive upgrade and wanting a player who isn’t just a rental, there is zero reason to not accept anything less than at least a first rounder. Now the real question is are you willing to send the Hawks more than just a first to get a McCabe at 50% retained? Things are about to get interesting.
The Hawks are back at it tonight against the Winnipeg Jets; they are coming off an overtime win against the Arizona Coyotes. The main takeaway from this one is Jaxson Stauber making Hawks history. By picking up the win and improving to 3-0, he becomes the first Hawks goalie to start his career 3-0. He has looked great in his three starts and last night was no different as he stopped 24 of the 27 shots he faced. Again, I am not sure where he sits in terms of future plans for Kyle Davidson, but one has to think that if he wasn’t already in consideration for the future, he definitely is now.
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Projected Starter Connor Hellebuyck 24-15-1 2.45 GAA .923 SV% 3 Shutouts
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