The Kane trade saga took an interesting turn on Thursday when a team that many (including myself) saw as the favorites to land the future hall of famer, made a trade with arch rival St Louis Blues for superstar Vladimir Tarasenko. The Rangers sent Blues forward Samuel Blais, defensive prospect Hunter Skinner, a conditional 1st and conditional 4th. Ultimately, it is being reported that the asking price for Kane was going to be too steep and the Rangers felt more comfortable going in this direction. This is a big deal as that is now two teams that were linked to Kane have gone out and made big splashes and ultimately telling Kyle Davidson thanks but no thanks. The only other team at this time that has been linked to Kane is the Dallas Stars and taking a look at their assets it doesn’t seem like they will have enough to make it worth asking Kane to waive his NMC.
As the season has continues to play out, for me, the gut feeling he wasn’t going to be moved seemed to get bigger and bigger and now its almost going to be shocking if he gets dealt. With rumors of him dealing with a hip injury that requires surgery seems to have enough traction that teams are not willing to pay the price set by KD and you have to wonder if moving him just to move him would be the right move. Here is where I am torn, because when you are in a rebuild getting as many draft picks and prospects as possible is huge. At the same time, though, if Kane could buy in to the rebuild and take on the mentor role, why wouldn’t you want to keep him around? Money won’t be an issue as you need to get to the cap floor and term won’t be either since he will probably be entering 1-3 year contract length territory.
I still think a dark horse trade partner for him could be the hometown Buffalo Sabres but with the direction that team is going, you would have to have him agree to an extension before making the trade. Another team that could potentially kick tires is the New Jersey Devils. They seem to be linked to every single available player on the market, which is hilarious to me but what makes them an interesting trade partner is Jack Hughes is considered week to week with an upper body injury. It would take a bit of work to make the money work, but the Devils have their first and second round picks for the next three seasons, so draft assets are there. Again, there is zero hockey insider backing to this idea just purely tossing ideas out there but if I was a betting man and trusted my gut feeling I would say Kaner is going no where.
Another player I do not think this going to get dealt is Captain Jonathan Toews. Just like Kane, he holds all the power when it comes to when and where he gets dealt should he decide to waive his NMC. However, with the continued battle with a non-covid illness, its hard to imagine teams jumping in line to try and plead their case to him. According to Ben Pope, Toews was back at Fifth Third Arena working out in the gym and Coach Richardson said he did look good after. He has been ruled out for the next two games as he looks to get back to 100%. While there is still a lot of value in Toews if he is used the correct way, I again find myself asking, at what point does trading him just to trade him make sense. We all have heard the market value for him is a 2nd or a 3rd which seemed very low to begin with. Now that he is set to miss 5 games since December due to illness, you have to think the Hawks would be lucky to get a 3rd for him. Much like Kane, my personal belief is if he can accept a mentor role, I think that is where he holds the most value for this team.
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