By Arthur Staple, Mark Lazerus and Scott Powers
The New York Rangers are acquiring forward Patrick Kane from the Chicago Blackhawks for a 2023 conditional second-round pick and a fourth-round pick, a source close to Kane tells The Athletic. Here’s what you need to know:
- The second-round pick will turn into a first-round pick in either 2024 or 2025 if the Rangers make the conference finals, according to ESPN.
- Kane, 34, has 16 goals and 29 assists in 54 games this season.
- He has played his entire 16-year career in Chicago, totaling 1,161 games, 446 goals and 779 assists.
- The Rangers are 34-17-19 and in third place in the Metro Division while the Blackhawks are 21-33-5, last in the Central Division.
Backstory
The Patrick Kane trade saga appears to have finally reached its conclusion Tuesday afternoon, with the star forward headed to New York after the Rangers made a number of cap-clearing moves over the past few days. On Saturday, the Rangers traded Vitali Kravtsov to Vancouver and placed Jake Leschyshyn on waivers. In Sunday’s 5-2 win over L.A., the team dressed and sat defenseman Braden Schneider — who was sent to the AHL after the game — and forward Ryan Carpenter.
Kane’s open disappointment at the Rangers’ trade for Vladimir Tarasenko — more than three weeks before the March 3 trade deadline — was the clearest signal that the Blackhawks’ star was strongly considering waiving his no-movement clause and asking out of Chicago. This past weekend, he left the team’s road trip amid trade speculation.
Kane has spent his entire 16-year career with Chicago after the team selected him No. 1 in the 2007 NHL Draft.
How the Rangers got here
The trade that everyone knew was coming has finally happened and Kane will make his Rangers debut in Philadelphia on Wednesday. Rangers GM Chris Drury contorted his roster to make the cap requirements fit, he didn’t give up a straight first-round pick — the 2023 second going in the deal could turn into a 2024 or 2025 first if the Rangers make the Eastern Conference final again — and the Rangers get a highly motivated star player who’s been telling people he’d love to reunite with Artemi Panarin since Panarin signed with the Rangers four years ago.
A source close to Kane said he waived his no-trade clause to facilitate the deal Sunday. Now the Rangers have 22 games left in the regular season to figure out where Kane best fits, how to distribute power-play time among their stars and whether this move is the one that can put the Rangers in position to emerge from a packed Eastern Conference. — Staple
What does Kane have left in the tank?
At 34 years old, Kane has spent most of this season mired in the worst campaign of his career. But the tanking was clearly weighing on him, and he was playing alongside the likes of Max Domi, Andreas Athanasiou, Jason Dickinson and Philipp Kurashev. Determined to go out strong, Kane reminded everyone how good he can be — he posted 92 points with a career-high-tying 66 assists last season, after all — by going on an absolute tear with seven goals and three assists in his last four games as a Blackhawk.
Kane’s game isn’t predicated on speed or strength, but rather on shiftiness, creativity and some of the best vision of his generation. He’s a setup wizard but he’s also got lethal finishing ability, perennially outperforming his metrics. And the last time he played alongside Panarin, he was the league MVP. There’s plenty left in the tank. — Lazerus
What does this mean for the Blackhawks?
For one, it’s the end of an era. Kane was drafted by the Blackhawks as the No. 1 overall pick in 2007 and went on to arguably be their most important player ever. He leaves the organization ranked third in games (1,161), third in goals (446), second in assists (779) and second in points (1,225). More than that, he came through when the games mattered most and helped the Blackhawks to three Stanley Cups. In 136 playoff games, he produced 132 points, including 52 goals and 80 assists. He’ll undoubtedly have his No. 88 retired and likely have a statue someday.
From a trade standpoint, Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson has to be disappointed. The Blackhawks were always going to do right by Kane, but they were hoping it’d be a situation where moving Kane would bring a decent package back. Ideally, they would have liked a first-round pick and a quality prospect. In Kane waiting to make a decision as long as he did and then leaving the Blackhawks only with one team to negotiate with, Davidson lost his leverage. He was in a corner, and the Rangers knew that, too. — Powers
Required reading
(Photo: Jerome Miron / USA Today)
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Rangers acquiring Patrick Kane from Blackhawks for multiple draft picks: Source - The Athletic
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