Patrick Kane’s Agent Plans to Revisit Trade Discussions with Chicago at ‘Appropriate Time Later This Season’
The Chicago Blackhawks and Patrick Kane are likely to part ways this season. That’s no secret. And once No. 88 eventually reaches the open market, he’ll be highly coveted across the NHL.
Amid a full-scale rebuild, the Blackhawks are set to lose more games than they’ll win in 2022-23 as they aim for the first overall selection in next summer’s draft, positioning the club to select future star Connor Bedard. To reach that goal, however, more trades are likely on the horizon for general manager Kyle Davidson.
With franchise icons like Kane and Jonathan Toews just one year away from unrestricted free agency, Davidson will be motivated to shop both players leading up to this season’s trade deadline. But out of respect, he also wants to do right by each of them.
Of course, both Kane and Toews possess full no-move clauses, meaning they’ll each have complete control of their respective futures this season. Once losses begin piling up, things could change quickly for the two longest-tenured active skaters in franchise history.
Last season, Claude Giroux was the prized possession on the trade market, whom the Florida Panthers ultimately acquired. And Kane could potentially experience a similar situation ahead of the March 3rd trade deadline.
For starters, the two skaters share the same agent, Pat Brisson of CAA Sports. Giroux, like Kane, also played for the same organization that drafted him prior to leaving for the Sunshine State last season.
In the end, however, the 34-year-old had to decide between staying with the only NHL franchise he had ever been with and chasing his first-ever Stanley Cup. He ultimately chose the latter, and while Kane is already a three-time champion, he’ll also likely have to make a tough decision like this one later on.
“It’s very similar, yes,” Brisson told The Athletic this past weekend. “The respect that both players have for each organization. Claude will have his number in the rafters in Philly one day, I do believe, and obviously Patrick as well in Chicago. Both players are very respected on those teams.
“Claude at the beginning of last season wanted to see how things were going to go with the Flyers. We realized pretty soon, by November, that if he wanted a chance at trying to win a Cup last season, he would have to make a decision. And he picked Florida. The Panthers were one of the most attractive teams at the trade deadline.”
That decision almost certainly won’t come easy for Kane. There’s something special about playing for one organization your entire career. But in the salary cap era, that’s become a rare occurrence.
For now, there’s no rush for the 33-year-old to decide whether or not he wants to be traded. If and when that time comes, the 5-foot-10 forward’s camp will be ready to move forward with the next chapter of his career.
“It’s a very similar approach that we had with Claude,” Brisson said. “We’ll see how things go in Chicago. We’ll see how Patrick feels. We’ll probably explore things at the appropriate time later this season.
“I don’t want to put too much of a timeline on it. But it’s clear the Hawks won’t push him to make a decision one way or another.”
Kane debuted with Chicago in 2007, scoring 21 goals and 72 points during his rookie campaign. He later won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s Rookie of the Year.
The Buffalo, New York, native has logged 1,110 career regular-season games across 16 NHL seasons, posting 430 goals and 1,181 points. He owns one assist and nine shots on goal through three games this season.
If Kane decides he wants out of Chicago, there shouldn’t be any shortage of potential suitors attempting to acquire his services.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Lisa Gansky. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.