REPORT: Patrick Kane Is Staying In Chicago
Rangers fans can officially....FUCK off...for now.
I woke up nervous today. I wasn't ready for the funeral. I don't want 88 to leave Chicago, ever. Like I said the other day I think he will be good and productive basically forever. I wouldn't blame him if he wanted to leave, but after seeing the return for Debrincat, I am not sure a trade of the greatest player in the history of the organization would return anything close to fair market value. Inherently, Kane is more valuable to Chicago than he is to any other team. Same goes for Toews. The difference being that Toews' name isn't really out there because there isn't a market for him.
Kane wants to "see how the season goes". Spoiler alert...it's going to go badly, Kaner.
Could you sell Kaner on getting enough points this year playing with Jonny and maybe Reichel where he gets enough points to feel like he's being productive and competitive while the team is worst in the league? Maybe.
This is the Official Chief Plan for a rebuild
2022-23: Be absolute DOG shit
2023 NHL Draft: Draft Connor Bedard
Summer 2023: Re-sign Kaner
2023-24 Season: Be absolute DOG SHIT again
Summer 2024: Sign Auston Matthews
Your top 6 in 2024-25 would include Patrick Kane, Auston Matthews, Connor Bedard, Reichel, and Frankie Nazar. That, in theory, looks pretty nice. Looks like a playoff team to me.
It might seem like a fantasy land scenario and it probably is, but look...I never want to see Kane play for anyone else. I want him to finish his career ahead of Mikita. He needs 290 points to pass Mikita as the Blackhawks all-time leading scorer. That'd be about 72 points per year for 4 years. That would take Kane to age 37. I think he will be good as long as he wants to. He just had 92 points on a team that NEVER had the puck. Now...this year he will play for a team that has the puck even less and he won't have Strome or Debrincat. So there will probably be a dip. Dip this year and then tell Kaner his job is to teach Bedard how to be a pro and get him over 100 points.