2/25/23 | Scott Powers tweets that from what he is hearing, Kane is only considering the Rangers.

2/24/23 | 6:16 PM: Elliotte Freidman was on NHL Network Friday night and said “I’m so careful about making bold pronouncements about this stuff, but I think we can see where this is headed. I don’t think it’s a guarantee yet, so I don’t want to pronounce it as a guarantee, but I think there are a couple of things going on here. I think the Rangers want to make sure…are we sure this is happening? They have the ability to clear room, they held Kravtsov and Leschyshyn out of the game last night, they held them out of practice today, they haven’t traded either one of them, and haven’t put anyone yet on waivers, that says to me that the Rangers are putting themselves in position to do this, but they need to make 100% sure that this is going to happen before they do it. Patrick Kane didn’t practice today and I know they are talking about an injury, but you bubble-wrap people at this time of year. I think this is trending toward Kane and the Rangers, but it’s not done yet and there is also the question of when can they do it. Depending on whose math you believe and what moves the Rangers make they could either do it right away or they might not be able to do it until late next week. I think the wheels are in motion to figure this all out. I think both teams are working on it, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rangers and Blackhawks know what the deal could be, I just think they have to make sure that all the ‘i’s are dotted and the ‘t’s are crossed before we can proclaim it’s 100% that this is going to happen, but it’s definitely moving in that direction.”

2:02 PM: Neither Leschyshyn or Kravtsov are on waivers today.

1:37 PM: Kane is potentially expected to decide whether he wants to be traded within 24 hours. (Johnston)

1:18 PM: Elliotte Friedman said on The Jeff Marek Show “I heard Chris Drury, yesterday, was calling around looking to move money, about $1.6 million in cap space and that, magically enough, is the number that is the combination of Kravtsov and Leschyshyn….I think it’s possible that if they can’t move those guys that the waiver wire comes into play because to do this I think the Rangers might have to go down to 20. If you’ve done the math, it’s really tight. I think that there is a combination of trades here and waiver wire. I think it’s possible that if this happens it doesn’t happen until the day of the trade deadline because that might be the way, with retention and the Rangers cap situation that this all works. They might have to wait until the day of the deadline….I think it’s possible that for the Rangers to do this, if they are doing it, it’s gotta be right at the deadline time so they can maximize their cap space.”

1:08 PM: Kravtsov and Leschyshyn are not taking part in the Rangers optional practice today. (Brooks)

1:02 PM: Kane is not practicing in Chicago with what the team is calling a maintenance day. (Myers)

10:57AM: Dreger was on TSN1050 this morning and said “I did hear late last night that the Rangers are looking to get creative and broker out some of the money. Is that because there is a decent chance they are going to take a run at Patty Kane. Anything is possible, but it starts with Patrick Kane first making the decision that he wants to be traded and then after that I’m sure NY and other teams will do their best to try and step up.”

9:50AM: Elliotte Friedman said on the 32 Thoughts podcast that “I heard that Chris Drury was calling teams and asking if there was a way he could move about $1.6 million in cap room and if he can’t do that in a trade, I think we all need to watch the waiver wire on Friday and that is going to tell us what exactly is going on here.”

He added that Kane’s agent is still being quoted as saying that Kane has not made any decision yet and that says to Friedman “the mechanism is slowly turning and everything has to get into place before anyone makes any pronouncement here.”

Darren Dreger tweeted that the Rangers “continue” to talk to teams about brokering a potential trade.

Friedman continued “I think that we all know that if the Rangers can get it done they are the favorites. If the Rangers actually do this and get the room and he doesn’t go there, jaws are going to drop.”

2PM: Adam Rotter: I guess the Rangers are still looking to move either Leschyshyn or Kravtsov via trade first before placing them on waivers. It’s also possible that they are waiting on the 100% decision from Kane that he wants to move, but I think they are probably going to attempt to clear the cap space ahead of time and then be in position to make the deal when the time comes.