Potential Chicago Blackhawks Trade Scenarios Are Already Exhausting

The start of the 2022-23 season is several weeks away and trade speculation around the Chicago Blackhawks is already tedious. Since Kyle Davidson has adopted, for real, a scorched earth approach to the rebuild the only thing anyone has to ask about Chicago is, "Where is Patrick Kane going to be traded?" This is then followed by a think piece on why the vaunted veteran would be a great fit for (insert team name) and the GMs should make it happen. If this deal is real, then let it happen organically. Otherwise, calm down sports writers.

Look, the Chicago Blackhawks will be bad, but who knows for how long. The team's focus has to be on the future, and questions surrounding the long-term presence of Kane, as well as captain Jonathan Toews, are to be expected. However, the volume of content being produced about these players, Kane in particular, is too much.

Some of these articles are pretty funny, but some of them are a bit ridiculous. Of course, the Toronto Maple Leafs are involved, obviously, as well. Even Spittin Chiclets thought it was silly, but hey, what's another $10,000,000 contract in Toronto?

On any day of the week, I can find someone writing something about where Patrick Kane is getting traded. This is part of the problem of having the Blackhawks as a topic in your news feed. Apparently, the internet just loves rubbing your face in badness so I have a constant murmur of articles about where Kane and Toews are going to end up. Yes, it's the off-season, but how is the sport so narrow that these two players take up so many column inches? There are 32 teams, and I'd swear all of them have nothing to do except talk about why Kane is coming there. When Sidney Crosby was potentially going to be on the market, the Internet exploded. In fact, so much so that Crosby was quoted saying he didn't really like all the chatter.

"I don't think you can get caught up in the chatter too much, but I think it's definitely tough, especially when you are talking about guys who have been involved with the team for a really long time," Crosby said. "It's not easy to hear those rumors, but that being said, we all have to be professional about it and find a way to make sure we're ready and we're better next year."

That quote is from the linked article, and it's a fair statement. I imagine Kane and Toews are having similar thoughts right now, but this is all a distraction. Chicago is going to be bad, and the focus has to be on the team getting better. If people are going to talk about having Kane on their team, I'd like to see more deep dives into what he's worth. What are other GMs going to offer to make that happen? It isn't just about Davidson eating salary and severing the tie. There has to be a return, and there isn't enough being said about that. I would love to hear offers for what could be one of the greatest rentals a Stanley Cup Contender could ever acquire. It isn't often a truly generational talent could be available. Make it worth the audience's attention and pitch something interesting.