Expect the Montreal Canadiens to pitch Patrick Kane on Monday – if he makes it to market

Credit: Patrick Kane (© Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports)

Twas the night before Free Agency, and it’s a madhouse.

It always takes a deadline to produce results in hockey, and many teams are spending Sunday scrambling to re-sign their own pending free agents before the calendar turns to July 1 and free agency opens on Monday at 12 noon ET.

The Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers are working away on Sam Reinhart, same with Jonathan Marchessault and the Vegas Golden Knights, the Nashville Predators with Alexandre Carrier, and the Carolina Hurricanes are believed to have even re-engaged with Brady Skjei on Sunday after trading the signing rights to Jake Guentzel to Tampa Bay.

What about the Detroit Red Wings? Their season ended 76 days ago, yet Steve Yzerman is negotiating with Shayne Gostisbehere, David Perron and Patrick Kane into the 11th hour.

And all the while, the rest of the league is salivating to see whether these players make it to market.

That means we could be in for some surprises. While it’s believed the Red Wings and Kane found some traction on Sunday, sources indicate the Montréal Canadiens are one of the teams preparing a pitch for P. Kane on Monday should he navigate free agency on Monday for the second time in one year. Kane, now 35 and eligible to sign a bonus-laden 35-plus contract for the first time in his career, registered 20 goals and 47 points in 50 games after a lengthy recovery from hip resurfacing surgery. That’s a 77-point pace for one of the 100 Greatest Players of All-Time (as chosen by the NHL in 2017) – and there’s reason to believe he’ll be even better next season with a full summer to train.

The New York Rangers, Dallas Stars and Kane’s hometown Buffalo Sabres are just a few of the other teams who are expected to make a play for Kane. Among the questions to consider from a Montréal perspective: Would Kane consider playing in Canada? Does he have interest in playing for Martin St. Louis? Would he commit to a non-playoff team like the Habs given their build cycle and timeline?

Then again, Kane chose the Red Wings last season. Could he play for a third Original Six team?

Kane is No. 10 on Daily Faceoff’s Top 75 Free Agents, which was updated on Sunday to reflect players who were bought out of their contracts and those not issued qualifying offers. Contract projections courtesy of @AFPAnalytics:

Daily Faceoff’s Top 75 Pending Free Agents

Rank	Player	Pos	Age	Team	Cap Hit	GP	G	PTS	AFP Projection
1	Sam Reinhart	RW	29	FLA	$6.5M	82	57	94	8 x $11.3M
2	Jake Guentzel	LW	30	CAR	$6M	67	30	77	7 x $9.3M
3	Steven Stamkos	LW/C	34	TBL	$8.5M	79	40	81	3 x $6.15M
4	Brady Skjei	LD	30	CAR	$5.25M	80	13	47	5 x $7.5M
5	Brandon Montour	RD	30	FLA	$3.5M	66	8	33	6 x $7.7M
6	Jonathan Marchessault	RW	34	VGK	$5M	82	42	69	3 x $6.3M
7	Elias Lindholm	C/RW	30	VAN	$4.85M	75	15	44	5 x $6.78M
8	Chandler Stephenson	C	30	VGK	$2.75M	75	16	51	5 x $5.63M
9	Matt Roy	RD	29	LAK	$3.15M	81	5	25	5 x $5.85M
10	Patrick Kane	RW	36	DET	$2.75M	50	20	47	2 x $6.3M
11	Nikita Zadorov	LD	29	VAN	$3.75M	75	6	20	5 x $5.32M
12	Brett Pesce	RD	30	CAR	$4.03M	70	3	13	5 x $6.3M
13	Matt Duchene	C/RW	33	DAL	$3M	80	25	65	3 x $4.83M
14	Sean Walker	RD	30	COL	$2.65M	81	10	29	3 x $4.65M
15	Jake DeBrusk	LW	28	BOS	$4M	80	19	40	5 x $5.8M
16	Tyler Toffoli	RW	32	WPG	$4.25M	79	33	55	4 x $6M
17	Shayne Gostisbehere	LD	31	DET	$4.13M	81	10	56	3 x $5M
18	Viktor Arvidsson	RW	31	LAK	$4.25M	18	6	15	3 x $4.75M
19	Jonathan Drouin	LW	29	COL	$825K	79	19	56	4 x $5M
20	Chris Tanev	RD	34	DAL	$4.5M	75	2	19	3 x $4.5M
21	Teuvo Teravainen	LW	30	CAR	$5.4M	76	25	53	4 x $5.25M
22	Tyler Bertuzzi	LW	29	TOR	$5.5M	80	21	43	4 x $5.25M
23	Sean Monahan	C	30	WPG	$2M	83	26	59	4 x $5.3M
24	Jeff Skinner	LW	32	BUF	$8M	74	24	46	1 x $3.1M
25	Oliver Ekman-Larsson	LD	33	FLA	$2.25M	80	9	32	3 x $4.1M
26	Alexandre Carrier	RD	27	NSH	$2.5M	73	4	20	3 x $4M
27	Vladimir Tarasenko	RW	33	FLA	$5M	76	23	55	2 x $4.15M
28	David Perron	RW	36	DET	$4.75M	76	17	47	2 x $3M
29	Brenden Dillon	LD	34	WPG	$3.9M	77	8	20	2 x $2.9M
30	Nate Schmidt	LD	32	WPG	$5.95M	63	2	14	2 x $2.4M
31	Alex Wennberg	C	30	NYR	$4.5M	79	10	30	4 x $3.87M
32	Anthony Duclair	LW	29	TBL	$3M	73	24	42	3 x $4.33M
33	Yakov Trenin	LW/C	28	COL	$1.7M	76	12	17	3 x $2.55M
34	Laurent Brossoit	G	31	WPG	$1.75M	23	2	0.927	2 x $2.2M
35	Alex Nedeljkovic	G	29	PIT	$1.5M	38	2.96	0.902	2 x $2.32M
36	Adam Henrique	C	34	EDM	$5.83M	82	24	51	3 x $4.3M
37	Warren Foegele	LW	28	EDM	$2.75M	82	20	41	3 x $3.9M
38	Anthony Mantha	LW	29	VGK	$5.7M	74	23	44	3 x $4.75M
39	Jason Zucker	LW	32	NSH	$5.3M	69	14	32	2 x $3.7M
40	Stefan Noesen	RW	31	CAR	$763K	81	14	37	3 x $3.2M
41	Michael Amadio	RW	28	VGK	$763K	73	14	27	3 x $3.1M
42	Matt Dumba	RD	30	TBL	$3.9M	76	4	12	3 x $3M
43	Ryan Suter	LD	39	DAL	$3.65M	82	2	17	1 x $1.75M
44	James van Riemsdyk	RW	35	BOS	$1M	71	11	38	1 x $1.2M
45	Matt Grzelcyk	LD	31	BOS	$3.7M	63	2	11	3 x $3.25M
46	Jordan Martinook	LW	32	CAR	$1.8M	82	14	32	3 x $2.77M
47	Mattias Janmark	LW	31	EDM	$1M	71	4	12	1 x $1M
48	Erik Gustafsson	LD	32	NYR	$825K	76	6	31	3 x $3.85M
49	Daniel Sprong	RW	27	DET	$2M	76	18	43	3 x $4.1M
50	Kevin Stenlund	C	27	FLA	$1M	81	11	15	2 x $1.3M
51	Kaapo Kahkonen	G	28	NJD	$2.75M	37	3.64	0.898	2 x $2M
52	Jack Roslovic	RW	27	NYR	$4M	59	9	31	3 x $3.1M
53	Brandon Duhaime	LW	27	COL	$1.1M	80	5	13	3 x $1.8M
54	Ilya Samsonov	G	27	TOR	$3.55M	40	3.13	0.89	1 x $2.35M
55	Anthony Beauvillier	RW	27	NSH	$4.15M	60	5	17	1 x $900K
56	Vincent Desharnais	RD	28	EDM	$763K	78	1	11	1 x $1.1M
57	Ian Cole	LD	35	VAN	$3M	78	2	11	1 x $2.1M
58	Tyson Barrie	RD	33	NSH	$4.5M	41	1	15	1 x $1.75M
59	Jani Hakanpaa	RD	32	DAL	$1.5M	64	2	12	1 x $1.5M
60	Alec Martinez	LD	36	VGK	$5.25M	55	4	17	1 x $1.25M
61	Cam Talbot	G	37	LAK	$2M	54	2.5	0.913	1 x $1.8M
62	Tony DeAngelo	RD	28	CAR	$1.68M	31	3	11	2 x $1.75M
63	Sam Carrick	C	32	EDM	$850K	77	10	16	2 x $1.47M
64	Tyler Johnson	RW	33	CHI	$5M	67	17	31	1 x $1.7M
65	Victor Olofsson	RW	28	BUF	$4.75M	51	7	15	1 x $1M
66	Kevin Labanc	RW	28	SJS	$4.73M	46	2	9	1 x $893K
67	Mike Hoffman	RW	34	SJS	$4.5M	66	10	23	1 x $1.15M
68	Joel Edmundson	LD	31	TOR	$3.5M	53	1	6	2 x $1.65M
69	Scott Wedgewood	G	31	DAL	$1M	32	2.85	0.899	1 x $1.8M
70	Casey DeSmith	G	32	VAN	$1.8M	29	2.89	0.896	1 x $1.65M
71	Oliver Kylington	LD	27	CGY	$2.5M	33	3	8	1 x $1.1M
72	Erik Brannstrom	LD	24	OTT	$2M	76	3	20	2 x $2.5M
73	Jack Campbell	G	32	EDM	$5M	5	4.50	.888	1 x $775K
74	T.J. Brodie	LD	34	TOR	$5M	78	1	26	2 x $3.65M
75	Max Pacioretty	LW	35	WSH	$2M	47	4	23	1 x $1.5M

Contract Projections Source: @AFPAnalytics

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Expect the Montreal Canadiens to pitch Patrick Kane on Monday – if he makes it to market

Daily Faceoff’s Top 75 Pending Free Agents

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