Patrick Kane is forcing the Blackhawks' hand.

The Chicago Blackhawks may have their hands tied.

For months now we have been hearing about a variety of rumors involving Chicago Blackhawks star forward Patrick Kane, rumors that focus on his future ahead of the National Hockey League's trade deadline on March 3rd. Although there has been a ton of news articles written about the situation between Kane and the Blackhawks, the reality is that we don't know much more now than we did when all of this began even prior to the start of this regular season.

That was at least until now.

In a stunning report, Chicago Blackhawks insider Scott Powers has now revealed that Patrick Kane may be giving the Blackhawks no options when it comes to their current dilemma. According to Powers, Kane is only interested in being traded if that trade sends him to New York where he would join former Blackhawks teammate Artemi Panarin on the New York Rangers.

Kane has maintained that he has not yet made a decision about his future but this report from Powers could certainly help explain why the Blackhawks haven't pulled the trigger on any moves with the trade deadline only a week away. If Kane is only willing to accept a trade to the Rangers it not only strips Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson of any leverage he may have had in negotiations, it also leaves him powerless to dictate the terms of the deal including when it will happen.

If the Rangers are planning on making this deal they will likely want to wait up until the deadline to accrue as much salary cap space as they possibly can before adding Kane to their roster. If they don't however, that could mean that the Blackhawks won't even have the opportunity to get any kind of return for Kane before his contract expires.