Patrick Kane's 1 destination looking to acquire him
Earlier this month, we witnessed the New York Rangers execute a surprising blockbuster trade by acquiring Vladimir Tarasenko from the St. Louis Blues. Despite rumors that Kane's preferred destination was the Rangers, Kane expressed disappointment in interviews about New York's acquisition of Tarasenko.
At the time of the trade, Kane was disheartened, but he may receive some positive news after all. According to New York Rangers Hockey Insider Larry Brooks, the Rangers are still attempting to acquire Kane, but there is a catch.
Rangers General Manager Chris Drury is endeavoring to offload Vitali through a trade or by placing him on waivers in the hope that another team will claim him, allowing the Rangers to gather more cap space to pursue Kane.
Brooks elaborates on this plan, saying: "Making like the stand-in President Bill Mitchell at the cabinet meeting in the movie, «Dave,» you take that, add it to the original $909,000, that gives you around $2.9 million, you get the Blackhawks to retain half of Kane's $10.5 million cap hit, you get another team to take half of the resulting $5.25 million, and voila, Kane's ultimate cap charge becomes $2.625 million that fits, and welcome to Broadway, No. 88."
However, there are significant assets the Rangers would need to sacrifice to make this trade happen. The club has no appetite to move the remaining first-rounder in this year's draft or Brennan Othmann, Will Cuylle, and the club's blue-chip prospects.
Acquiring Kane would be a significant challenge, but if Kane makes it known that he would waive his no-move clause to join the Rangers, and the Blueshirts can manage the cost, it could happen.
If Kravtsov clears waivers, this would be beneficial in itself, putting him in a position to consistently play on the top line with the Wolf Pack. This would prepare him for the playoffs if the Rangers require him due to injuries.
In any case, if claimed, the Blueshirts would not have lost Vitali for nothing. In essence, they would have traded him for $2 million in cap space and the opportunity to add Patrick Kane.
If Drury can successfully acquire Kane in addition to already having Tarasenko, the Rangers could become the team to beat in the Eastern Conference, providing Kane with an opportunity to win the Stanley Cup.
| POLL | ||
21 FEVRIER | 43 ANSWERS Patrick Kane's 1 destination looking to acquire him Would you be happy to see Kane go to New York ? | ||
| Yes | 17 | 39.5 % |
| No | 26 | 60.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
