Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane has been keeping things more or less close to his vest when it comes to the possibility of him being moved before the trade deadline.
But something squeezed out today when he indicated that he wasn’t the happiest to hear that Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko had been acquired by the New York Rangers.
The Rangers were one of the teams that Kane was considering. In fact, if a deal had been done between the management of both teams, Kane would have waived his NMA condition and become a Ranger. At least for a few months as he’s a free agent at the end of the year.
What’s not to like for Kane in New York? It’s the Big Apple for a reason. He would likely be reunited with Artemi Panarin. First line minutes. First power play unit. Plays with Panarin, Fox, Zabanejad, Chris Kreider, and all the other good players New York has And he’s from Buffalo, New York.
But the Rangers went for Tarasenko, making a deal that they’re more comfortable with.
Let’s face it, both St. Louis and Chicago wanted a first round pick, which isn’t a problem because the Rangers had two of them. Chicago wants a 2023 first, a young up-and- coming player off the current roster, and a top prospect in the minors. That’s pretty much what the Blues offered. So what happened?
Without commenting on the prospects, it was the roster player that would make the difference. The Blackhawks wanted one of Kaapo Kaako, Alexis Lafreniere, or Philip Chytil as part of the trade. The Rangers said no to parting with any of these three. So they went for Tarasenko.
This trade will obviously impact the Kane situation in Chicago. I do believe, though, that he’ll waive to go somewhere, get Chicago the futures, and if he wants to badly enough, sign a team-friendly contract out of free agency.
NEWSMAGRENFREW 