Blackhawks management is getting nervous about Kane trade

Some fans have marked the calendar around the trade deadline seeing that reports recently emerged that Patrick Kane and the Blackhawks would put a plan to move him out of Chicago to a contender.

However, no one expected the team to be this good at the beginning of 2022-23.

Team insider Scott Powers of the Athletic says it best after last night’s games against the Edmonton Oilers - sure, they lost, but only 6-5 and no one could have imagine the Hawks would look so good against a strong contender.

“Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson might have a problem. He has built too good of a bad team.”

Powers is convinced, like many insiders and pundits, that this will affect Kane’s, and captain Jonah Toews’, decision when it comes to a trade. After all, both star players mentioned many times in the past how they would love to end their respective careers in Chicago.

Powers needed to check in with Kane, after the tight loss to Edmonton, about how he feels with the Blackhawks’ start:

“Very happy with the team,” he said. “I feel like with this group, competitive every night and we have confidence that we’re going to win. That’s a team (the Oilers) that got better over the summer, and they went to a conference final last year, so I think we should feel good about where we’re at because I feel like we can play better, too.”

And if the Blackhawks play better and better, and imagine, land a playoff spot, Kane could make his last push in Chicago.

“I just think we got good structure in here, good atmosphere, guys work hard,” Kane added. “It’s pretty impressive. I think we could have all the excuses in the world to not play hard and just could’ve packed it in this year, but guys are playing hard, guys want to win, guys want to prove people wrong. It’s impressive.”

Kane has been linked to several contenders like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres. It is believed the New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Calgary Flames could also compete for Kane’s services.

But the Blackhawks might be the favourites right now…