Grading the Patrick Kane trade: No leverage, no choice for Blackhawks, who do right by him

Credit: © Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports

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The fire had so much smoke that it was really just a matter of time – and clearing cap space.

Eleven days after Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane bowed out of the lineup to await a trade, he has a new home in Manhattan. The New York Rangers acquired Kane Tuesday night in a three-team trade with the Arizona Coyotes stepping in as a third-party broker. The Blackhawks receive a 2023 conditional second-round pick that can become a 2024 or 2025 first-rounder and a 2025 fourth-round pick. They retain 50 percent of Kane’s $10.5 million cap hit at $5.25 million, while the Coyotes also swallow $2.625 million, meaning Kane fits under the Rangers’ cap for just $2.625 million, or 25 percent of his original cap hit. In exchange for their services, the Coyotes receive a 2025 third-round pick from the Rangers.

Kane, 34, struggled for much of this season, fighting off a nagging hip injury and playing with the weakest supporting cast of his career. But he appeared to shake off the injury in February and entered his self-imposed hiatus as hot as any player in the NHL, ripping off seven goals in a four-game span and showing in the process that he still has plenty left to give in his Hall of Fame career.

Will Kane put the Rangers, who already acquired Vladimir Tarasenko earlier this month, over the top in their quest for a Stanley Cup? Or is he a mere luxury that doesn’t necessarily alter the makeup of an already-loaded roster?

Let’s grade the trade.

NEW YORK RANGERS

Receive:

RW Patrick Kane, 34 – $2.625 million cap hit (75% of $10.5 million retained between CHI and ARI), 2023 UFA

D Cooper Zech, 24, $837,500 cap hit, 2023 RFA

Kane will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He’s a three-time Stanley Cup winner, a Hart Trophy winner, an Art Ross Trophy winner, a Conn Smythe Trophy winner, a Calder Trophy winner and a three-time first-team all-star. He has more than 1,200 career points and, depending on how much longer he plays, should retire as one of the top 20 scorers in league history.

The big question is, however: which version of Kane are the Rangers getting? He’s not the peak superstar version that was one of the best four or five players of his generation. Points per 60, primary assists per 60, scoring chances per 60 – name the 5-on-5 play driving metric and it’s the lowest or close to the lowest of his career. Kane has also been a black hole defensively – which is saying something for a player never known for his play in his own end. With Kane on the ice at 5-on-5, opposing teams get more than 60 percent of the scoring chances. Among 298 forwards with at least 500 minutes played this season, Kane ranks 296^th in on-ice scoring chance percentage. Defense pretty much doesn’t exist for him.

Of course, his most frequent linemates, Max Domi and Andreas Athanasiou, sit bottom-20 in the NHL in the same stat. So we can partially blame Kane’s struggles on the company he’s kept. The Rangers are thus betting he’s not nearly as “finished” as he might seem. Odds are, he’ll get a look with his old linemate Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck between them. Playing in a top six that also includes Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Tarasenko, Kane won’t have to do nearly as much on his own. His raw skills remain special. Few if any players handle the puck as well as he does. His backhand is among the most deceptive in the sport. His recent hot streak reminded fans and suitors alike of what he can still do if he’s motivated and feeling healthy.

Perhaps most importantly on a team that already has so much star power: Kane has 11 career playoff game-winning goals, tied for third among active NHLers, including four in overtime. He’s one of the best clutch players ever. He joins Tarasenko and Barclay Goodrow as the lone Blueshirts with Stanley Cup rings. That type of experience will prove extremely valuable should they run up against a team full of winners like they did against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2022 Eastern Conference Final.

Kane’s game is undoubtedly flawed at this stage of his career, but he hasn’t played on a team this good in, what, seven years? He’s a luxury addition, but his creativity and clutch ability could put a stacked Rangers squad over the top.

Better yet, the Rangers and GM Chris Drury did a tremendous job leveraging the fact that Kane had been publicly open about his desire to be a Blueshirt and didn’t seem to have interest in many if any other markets. They secured Kane without surrendering a single prospect. If he doesn’t help them on a deep run, they don’t even lose a first-round pick, and if they do end up surrendering a first, it means they won a least two playoff series, which would justify the acquisition cost.

Grade: A

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

Receive:

2023 conditional second-round pick (becomes a 2024 or 2025 first-round pick if Rangers reach Eastern Conference Final)

2025 fourth-round pick

D Andy Welinski, 29, $750,000 cap hit, 2023 UFA

D Vili Saarijarvi, 25, playing in Swiss NL (acquired from ARI)

Only Stan Mikita has more points in a Blackhawks sweater than Kane. He’s a Chicago institution. It will feel awkward to see him in another jersey, especially an Original Six one.

But the Hawks and GM Kyle Davidson understand how decimated their franchise is. Removing one of their best players in franchise history, if not the best, signals ground zero for a team trying to completely remake itself. It would’ve been a failure not to cash out a pending UFA of Kane’s value, especially when captain Jonathan Toews’ health problems rendered him untradeable.

Davidson was also painted into a corner, just like Philadelphia Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher was a year ago with Claude Giroux – with Kane carrying a much higher cap hit than Giroux’s $8.275 million. Given Kane’s age and the injury concerns that followed him around for a good portion of the season, it was going to be tough for Chicago to get a return in line with, for instance, what the St. Louis Blues got for Vladimir Tarasenko (with Niko Mikkola also involved) or what they got for Ryan O’Reilly (with Noel Acciari also included).

It would’ve been nice to see any prospect going the Blackhawks’ way, however, even a second-tier one (the minor leaguers they received don’t count). Especially when the first-round pick is not guaranteed. Even if Kane helps New York to Game 7 in Round 2 of the playoffs, that pick isn’t a first-rounder unless the Rangers make the Final Four.

It’s an adequate return if we acknowledge that Davidson’s hands were tied. And he has done right by his star, sending him to a market that appealed to him, where he can pursue another championship. But that doesn’t mean we have to like the return. Moving a franchise icon without securing any prospects or a guaranteed first-rounder is tough to swallow.

But hey – if Kane ends up feeling incredibly homesick, he can always return to Chicago as a UFA and possible mentor for Connor Bedard, Adam Fantili or whoever the Blackhawks select with an early pick in the loaded 2023 Draft.

Grade: C

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Grading the Patrick Kane trade: No leverage, no choice for Blackhawks, who do right by him

NEW YORK RANGERS

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

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