So, Patrick Kane Might Become A New York Ranger

So the same day my story about how Patrick Kane won’t become a New York Ranger goes live, all of these stories start to emerge about how the Rangers are still in on the Blackhawks forward. Larry Brooks from the New York Post wrote about how the Rangers will try to accommodate a Kane trade once he makes his decision on if he wants to be traded by the March 3rd Trade Deadline.

At this point, it looks like Rangers or bust for Kane so let’s take a look at what a potential Kane trade looks like at how it could impact the Rangers going forward.

Kane has been playing at the top of his game over the past few weeks. He has 45 points in 54 games and has scored 7 goals and 10 points in his last 4 games. Safe to say that Kane is trying to show that he can still go and play at a high level despite the rumors of his hip injury.

He feels that his injury has been overblown and he is showing that by playing at the level we know he can play at. If he wants to leave Chicago, there will be plenty of teams that would have interest, but it feels that Kane only wants to go to one team, the New York Rangers.

Kane was visibly shocked at the news that the Rangers traded for Vladimir Tarasenko a few weeks back. However, it still appears that the Rangers have an interest in him and want to make a trade work if he wants to come here. It is a known fact the Rangers have very little cap space to work with and this trade would be a complicated one. It would have to involve a third team to take back part of Kane’s salary and the Rangers would need to get rid of at least two roster players.

The two players who would likely be impacted by the trade would be Vitali Kravtsov and Jake Leschyshyn. These players would be impacted for two different reasons. Kravtsov would likely be a part of the trade with the Blackhawks and Leschyshyn would need to be put on waivers in order for the Rangers to gain more cap space as we get closer to the deadline.

If Kane only wants t come to the Rangers, this would mean that the Rangers would not have to give up as much for him since he only wants to come here. The package for him could include Kravtsov, a second-round pick, or a conditional third that turns into a second should the conditions be met. This would not be a huge package to give up and the Rangers could make that work.

If Kane were to become a Ranger, the Rangers’ forward core would be insane. You have a top six of Kane, Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Vladimir Tarasenko and Vincent Trocheck. Behind them, you have The Kid Line and a shutdown fourth line. This would be the deepest and most talented Rangers team in many years. Will this actually happen? Only time will tell.