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No one knows at this point what the long-term future holds for Patrick Kane, but it's becoming more and more evident that the Blackhawks will open training camp this month without him, and that he could be away from the team for quite some time while his legal situation evolves.
There is no way Kane could—or should—be part of camp in light of the distraction his presence would provide, not to mention the constant possibility of his arrest and detention.
The Blackhawks have to move forward as though Kane will be out for some time. How that works—is Kane suspended or put on a leave of absence—does it create temporary cap room—are questions no one seems to have a firm answer to.
I would operate under the following two assumptions: Kane will be out for some time and there will be no magic salary cap benefit (as there was when Kane went on LTIR last spring).
A couple of other assumptions: Bryan Bickell or Kris Versteeg will likely be traded in the next couple of weeks, and Marcus Kruger will be re-signed.
So, assuming no credible NHL-ready asset comes back in the aforementioned trade, your opening night 2015-16 Chicago Blackhawks forward lines look something like this:
Panarin-Toews-Hossa Versteeg (Bickell)-Anisimov-Dano Garbutt-Shaw-Teravainen Desjardins-Kruger-Tikhonov
Stan Bowman didn't know he would be missing one of the franchise cornerstones and it's best pure offensive player going in to this season. But the blow is softened with the acquisitions of Panarin, Tikhonov and Dano, all of whom have pro experience and the latter two showing some NHL ability.
But now, in addition to integrating a lot of new faces, there is no hiding place for Dano in particular. Either he or Teravainen will need to occupy the second line RW spot that Kane so ably filled. Dano was a bit of a revelation down the stretch last season for Columbus, and we all know Teravainen has shown some flashes of real ability. But this is step up time for both.
Yes, Joel Quenneville mentioned earlier in the summer that he'd like to move Teravainen to center. But that was before he lost his top right wing, and right wing might be Teravainen's best NHL position regardless. And in Shaw and Tikhonov, Q has a couple of guys who can play center on a lower line, if need be.
You know who your top 4 is on defense, with Trevor Daley added in to that mix, for better or worse. The competition for the last three defense spots will come down to Erik Gustafsson, Trevor van Riemsdyk, David Rundblad and likely a veteran signed to a PTO (and I wouldn't rule out the return of Michal Rozsival on a cap-friendly deal).
The point is, the organization needs to set the Black Cloud of the Kane situation aside to the extent possible and move on—knowing it's now about Kane's long-term future and that won't be decided for a while.
Look at it this way: if Kane had blown out a knee training in July, it would be roughly the same situation, except that might again free up some cap dollars in the short term. But, either way, you have to move forward probably with the guys you have.
I would wager the trade rumors will be kicking in here again shortly. I'll be back with anything I hear.
JJ
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