It’s been a great start to the season for the New York Rangers. With a 9-2-1 record through 12 games, they are flying with a three-point lead at the top of the Metropolitan Division. However, there is a reason for some concern with the Blueshirts. Despite a hot start to the season for Peter Laviolette and his squad, the Rangers have had a shortcoming early in the season.
That is their 5-on-5 scoring. With 39 goals from the team early in the season, 14 of those have come on the powerplay. New York has also had a shorthanded goal from Chris Kreider, so the Blueshirts have only scored 24 even-strength goals through 12 games. For the mathematicians among the readers, that is two even-strength goals per game. That is a majorly concerning trend, considering most teams will score more than that.
If the Blueshirts need more offense, one man has been in the rumor mill for months and could return to Broadway to help out the team he was playing for at the end of last season. That would be one Patrick Kane. Kane has been rehabbing from off-season hip surgery to clean up an issue that had been lingering and is hoping to return to the NHL at the age of 34 and win another Stanley Cup.
The Rangers acquired Kane from the Chicago Blackhawks at the 2023 NHL trade deadline for a 2023 2nd-round pick, a 2025 3rd-round pick, a 2025 4th-round pick, and Andy Welinski. That combination was enough to get the Blueshirts the future hall-of-fame winger at just 25% of his original cap hit, but with Kane being a free agent now, it will not cost anything but cap space to bring the Buffalo, New York native back.
In his recent piece for The Athletic, insider Pierre LeBrun stated that Kane and the Rangers had been “keeping tabs” on each other. Kane wants to find a home that will help him capture his fourth Stanley Cup. Kane has scored 324 even-strength goals during his decorated career. Some don’t like the idea of bringing Kane back because of how it went last time, but a healthy Kane with a new coach could be a different result.