Why Avalanche Should Strongly Pursue Patrick Kane Trade amid NHL Rumors

The Chicago Blackhawks' full-on rebuild has continued. The team is undergoing some major changes at the moment, and more are likely on the way now that summer has arrived.

On Monday, the Blackhawks opted to not extend qualifying offers to forwards Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik, making them both unrestricted free agents when free agency begins Wednesday at noon ET.

But Chicago hasn't parted with all of its top veteran players. Still on its roster is 33-year-old forward Patrick Kane, who has spent his entire 15-year career with the Blackhawks and has one season remaining on his contract.

Kane may not make it through the 2022-23 campaign in Chicago, though. Not with the way the team is moving on from players. And according to The Athletic's Scott Powers, Kane may be ready to go elsewhere. Powers reported that people close to Kane said they'd be "shocked if he chose to stay with the Blackhawks beyond the trade deadline."

“They’ve basically traded everyone he’s ever enjoyed playing with,” one person told Powers.

Powers also raised an interesting idea for Kane to consider.

"If I was Kane, I’d be signing affordable one-year deals the rest of the way, playing with whomever he wants and chasing another Stanley Cup or two," Powers wrote.

That could make sense, even if Kane is already a three-time Cup champion. Who doesn't want to win as many titles as possible? And if that's Kane's imminent goal, why not try to get to the defending champs?

Kane joining the Colorado Avalanche may be more than a pipe dream, too. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman recently shared on his 32 Thoughts podcast that the Avs inquired about Kane prior to the trade deadline in March to "see if he was available." Friedman also wouldn't be surprised if they reached out again in the future.

"If—and I stress this is an if—if Patrick Kane is available, I can see Colorado making another try for him," Friedman said on the podcast.

The Avalanche should try their hardest to push for a deal this summer, even if the Blackhawks are a bit hesitant to trade a franchise player like Kane. Colorado may soon be losing one of its key contributors from its run to the Cup, as center Nazem Kadri is hitting the free-agent market. And Kane would help prevent an offensive drop-off.

Even at this point in his career, Kane is playing at a high level. Last season, he tallied 92 points (26 goals and 36 assists), the third-most he's had in a season during his career.

If the Avs were going to make a trade for Kane, though, they'd have to find a way to make it work financially. He has a $10.5 million cap hit for the 2022-23 season, and Colorado currently has $14.91 million in available cap space (per CapFriendly).

The Avs have already moved for a starting goaltender, acquiring Alexandar Georgiev in a trade with the New York Rangers to replace the outgoing Darcy Kuemper, but they still have players to replace or re-sign.

Andre Burakovsky, Artturi Lehkonen, Jack Johnson, Josh Manson and Kadri all logged significant ice time for last season's championship squad and are set to become unrestricted free agents. To sufficiently fill those holes and acquire Kane, the Avs would likely need Chicago to retain a significant portion of Kane's cap hit.

But with Chicago seemingly set on a full roster teardown, it may decide it's worth it to get as many assets as possible for Kane, who has a no-movement clause and can therefore dictate where he is traded.

If the Blackhawks are open to a deal that works for their cap sheet, the Avalanche should do whatever it takes to land Kane. There aren't many players in the league who have the skills and experience he possesses, and he could help Colorado go for a Cup repeat next year.