Blackhawks: Trading Patrick Kane is not as straight forward as it sounds

The Chicago Blackhawks have not impressed in the past couple of seasons, so should they trade franchise forward Patrick Kane? I have read a few articles regarding a potential trade of Patrick Kane. Here’s why I don’t think it would ever happen.

Here’s the hard part about trading Kane. – He would first want to leave as he has a no-movement clause, meaning he has to approve any transaction he would be a part of. Kane would also (most likely) be allowed to choose the top five teams he would want to be traded to as well.

Here’s the bad thing: Contenders will either 1. not have any good prospects, and 2. have no value on first-round selections. On top of this, the Chicago Blackhawks would have to take on a contract around 7 million for the other team to accommodate Kane’s contract. The ‘Hawks would command a gigantic return for Patrick Kane as well, including (but not limited to) a young impact player, a high-quality prospect, and first-round picks. As far as I know, Kane doesn’t want to leave Chicago, either.

IF the Chicago Blackhawks traded Kane to a contender, let’s use the Philadelphia Flyers as an example. Based on the team’s needs, the Blackhawks would want the following in the transaction:

1. An elite young defenseman and/or goaltender
2. A quality prospect (any position)
3. First-round picks

In my opinion, a trade would have to look something like this for the Chicago Blackhawks to even consider the move:

Ivan Provorov would take the Blackhawks’ number one defenseman spot, and at 24 years of age, he would be the heart of the defense. Erik Gustafsson is included to keep the Flyers under the salary cap, which is why another first-round pick is included in this potential deal as compensation. Morgan Frost is a prospect with high potential at 21 years of age, most likely a top-six forward without any serious injury.

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See, this is already a lot to send over in a trade for the Flyers. Provorov probably wouldn’t be moved since he’s a huge part of the Flyers’ blueline. They could send Jakob Voracek (8.25 mil contract, 4 yrs) instead of Provorov, but the Chicago Blackhawks would not take him in a trade involving Kane.

There’s nothing Voracek can give the Blackhawks since he’s 31, reached his ceiling, and wouldn’t do anything for the ‘Hawks but be deadweight in two years when he’s 33. The Blackhawks want pieces who can help and accelerate the rebuild, so Voracek would not help.

To summarize, for Patrick Kane to be traded, the other team has to have an offer that would make Stan Bowman strongly consider the move. He has been fleeced before, but this is Patrick Kane we’re talking about now, not Robin Lehner or Artemi Panarin.

Those two are both superstars, but Kane has both the skill and the sentiment, winning three Stanley Cups for the franchise. Teams would have to overpay to acquire Kane, and I’m not sure any contender can assemble a package they would be willing to send over that the ‘Hawks would actually take. The contender would have to be creative to stay under the salary cap, which makes this move that much harder. In other words, there is almost no way Patrick Kane will leave Chicago until he enters UFA in the summer of 2023.