Rumoured contender gets out of Patrick Kane sweepstakes?!

This offseason, Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane has been linked to the Edmonton Oilers more than once.

It all started when fans began to wonder if Kane would want another shot at a championship before hanging up the skates. Then, the rebuild kicked off in Chicago with Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson pulling off two large trades on the draft floor in Montreal. First up, Davidson traded star forward Alex DeBrincat to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for the 7th overall pick, a 2nd round and a 3rd pick. Then Davidson shipped out former 3rd overall pick Kirby Dach to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for the 13th overall pick and another 2nd round pick. In essence, the Blackhawks loaded up on draft picks by shipping out DeBrincat and Dach.

Kane did comment that he’d be honoured to lead the young guys in Chicago, however that was before losing close friend DeBrincat in the aforementioned trade.

Since then, many contenders have come forward as possible landing spots for Kane, though the Oilers have been in the mix for a while. However, insider John Shannon told Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now that he does not believe Edmonton should or will make a move to acquire the star forward from the Hawks.

“If you think that the Oilers are that close to a Stanley Cup, does Patrick Kane put you over the top? My thought process would be a defenceman rather than another forward,” Shannon said. “Goal scoring is not going to be the problem for this hockey club. The issue for this club — as it has been for the last couple of years — is how to keep the puck out of the net at key times. For the most part they’ve done a pretty good job. Jack Campbell is going to address some of those issues. But I still think they need another defenceman before they need another forward.”

On top of that, Stauffer broke down how much it could cost the Oilers to get their hands on Kane, which might be too much for GM Ken Holland: “either winger Jesse Puljujarvi or Warren Foegele (partly to move out salary to Chicago to fit in Kane under the Oilers’ cap), Edmonton’s 2023 #1 draft pick and a few other prospects, but not any of the Oil’s former first picks like Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway, Reid Schaefer or Xavier Bourgault.”

Chicago would also need to absorb “half of Kane’s salary and Edmonton also might need another team to eat 25 per cent of Kane’s $10.5 million cap hit, which might cost a third round pick.”

While I tend to believe Kane would bring a lot to Edmonton, the Oilers might indeed need to focus on their back end for a longer playoff run. It’s also hard to see how Kane and captain Connor McDavid would fit at even strength…

But it all comes down to price and Kane’s tag might be just too much for Holland. Kane might want out, though if a trade takes place, many insiders believe it could be closer to the trade deadline when contenders look to add on veteran presence and leadership. But a first rounder for a rental, that seems like a lot. Kane’s no-movement clause also complicates things. While there’s no indication he’s agreed to waive it, he’ll likely do so for only a small number of teams.

And so Shannon may believe the Oilers are out of the sweepstakes, but maybe Kane would never want to go anyway…