The Chicago Blackhawks are sending winger Patrick Kane to the New York Rangers in a blockbuster deal which could reshape the balance of power in the Eastern Conference.
Kane, 34, had a full no movement clause in his contract which he wielded to his advantage to dictate which team he ultimately wound up with. Had Kane been put on the open market, a bidding frenzy for his services would have ensued.
However the Buffalo, NY native made no attempt to hide his desire to join the Rangers throughout the negotiation process, removing most of the leverage Chicago had in any trade talks.
Heading back to the Windy City is a conditional 2023 2nd round pick, and a 2023 4th round selection. Should the Rangers reach the Eastern Conference finals, the conditional 2nd can turn into a 1st in either 2024 or 2025.
New York had long been linked to the Blackhawks star, however after acquiring Vladimir Tarasenko in a separate deal with the St. Louis Blues, many believed that ship had sailed.
However with Kane unwilling to waive his NMC, and Chicago not wanting to risk losing their asset to free agency, a deal was begrudgingly brokered by Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson.
In order to make the deal work, Chicago is also retaining 50% of Kane’s $10.5M contract, with Arizona joining as a third party broker to retain an additional 50%. When all is said and done, the 3x Stanley Cup champion will only count for $2.625M against the Rangers cap.
Kane will join an absolutely loaded Rangers lineup which includes the likes of Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Vladimir Tarasenko and former Chicago teammate Artemi Panarin.
New York is currently 34-17-9 and sit 9pts back of the Carolina Hurricanes for 1st place in the Metropolitan Division with 22 games to play. While it’s yet to be confirmed, speculation is currently pointing towards Wednesday in Philadelphia as a possible debut for the newest member of the Blue Shirts.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Lisa Gansky. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.