New curveball in Patrick Kane’s trade situation!

Reports from earlier this season often mentioned how the Chicago Blackhawks would check in with star forward Patrick Kane in December when it comes to wanting to be traded ahead of the deadline on March 3.

Well, December is here and as we get closer to the halfway mark of 2022-23, there is a sense that a monster Kane trade might not take place at all.

Scott Powers of The Athletic points out how Kane intends to speak with his agent Pat Brisson and Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson about his future plans, but it could revolve around a contract extension, more than a potential trade to a contender.

There is a sense from the Hawks’ front office that Kane, and captain Jonathan Huberdeau, that no one is convinced those two want to be traded. GM Davidson is not expected to pressure Kane or Toews into making a decision ahead of the deadline and leaving. He could instead push forward Max Domi or Andreas Athanasiou on the block and get interesting returns like “high draft picks, maybe even first-rounders” in exchange to help the rebuild in Chicago and get young players who could learn from both Kane and Toews before they need to hang up the skates.

It is also believed that Kane might have his eyes on taking a run at some of Stan Mikita’s franchise records (games played, assists and points). However, these milestones might be more important than being traded to a Stanley Cup contender for another chance at a championship for Kane, who considers Chicago a second home.

Kane carries a $10.5 million cap hit plus a full no-movement clause giving him full control over where he might go.
Powers wonders if the picture will get clearer for both Kane and Toews as we headed into February, just weeks before the deadline: “They’ll want to see who’s legit to win the Cup,” said an executive to Powers.

This is a lot of new information that really comes back to being patient and keeping a close eye on this.

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