2/23/23 | 4:54 PM: Elliotte Friedman said on NHL Network, “That Rangers story last night, at this time of year I don’t believe there are any coincidences. The Rangers will need some help if they are going to do that, but if they are in the race and interested I still think that is the team he’d prefer to go to, but I don’t think he has closed the door yet…until I hear one team, I don’t think he’s closed the door and is still thinking about other situations.”
12:38 PM: On The Jeff Marek show, Elliotte Friedman said on Thursday “I think he wants to go to the Rangers, I’m not a genius to predict that, we all know that. If you look at the Rangers lineup, there is room for him on the right side. The problem is, I don’t even know if it’s a problem, the thing is, the Rangers are going to have to do a little bit of surgery to do this. If you do all the permutations and look at everything with the Blackhawks taking 50% and the other team taking 25%, I think they are about $75,000 short, even if Kravtsov is included in the deal. To do that the Rangers might only be able to carry 20 players in the regular season. It’s going to take some surgery…”
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9AM: Pierre LeBrun said on his podcast on Tuesday that “Here’s the thing about Patrick Kane. I think that Pat Brisson, and he’s probably right, is not discouraged by the fact that the Rangers went to get Tarasenko and the Leafs went to get O’Reilly. I think Pat Brisson feels deep down that he’s got a Hall of Fame client who, if he decides he wants to get traded…that if they say Rangers, just to use an example, that the Rangers will just try to find a way because it’s Patrick Kane.”
2/22/23 | Larry Brooks writes in the NY Post that the Rangers have “signaled” that they will “try to make it work” if Patrick Kane is willing to waive his no-move clause to come to the Rangers.
Kane reportedly believes that the Rangers are still a potential option. (The Athletic)
Brooks writes that the Rangers interest in Kane has “not waned” since they acquired Vladimir Tarasenko. (NY Post)
The Rangers reportedly went for Tarasenko over Kane because they felt the price was too high and they were concerned about his hip.
Brooks adds that the Rangers have “no appetite” to move their first round pick this year. (NY Post)
Kane was “not the happiest” when he heard that the Rangers had acquired Tarasenko.
Emily Kaplan wrote today that the “behind the scenes” talks between the Rangers and Blackhawks were “more advanced” than previously known. (ESPN)
The Rangers would need to involve a third team that would bring Kane’s cap hit down to $2.625 million.
Adam Rotter: Just because Patrick Kane wants this to happen and the Rangers reportedly want this to happen doesn’t mean that it will. There are a lot of obstacles to get past with the salary cap, the cost for Kane from Chicago, and the cost to a third, or potentially even fourth team, to keep driving his cap hit down. There is also the issue of depth up front that the Rangers will have through the rest of the regular season if someone gets hurt.
That said, I would not be surprised if Patrick Kane ends up with the Rangers. The Rangers are trying to go for it and adding Kane gives them a very deep and experienced top-six, The Kid Line and a fourth line of Jimmy Vesey, Barclay Goodrow and Tyler Motte.
How it all happens though remains in question. Vitali Kravtsov would have to go, Jake Leschyshyn would have to go and so would some combination of mid-round picks to Chicago and the team retaining salary. If Kane tells Chicago that he only wants to come to the Rangers then they won’t have much leverage and the Rangers won’t get him for nothing, but they won’t have to give up anything of major significance.