Patrick Kane Trade Rumors: Blackhawks Star 'Undecided' on Requesting Exit

Amid the Chicago Blackhawks' rebuild, nine-time All-Star Patrick Kane's future with the organization is up in the air.

Per TSN's Darren Dreger, Kane's camp is "undecided" about whether or not to ask for a trade request.

This comes after Scott Powers of The Athletic noted on July 11 that last week was "probably" the deadline for Kane to let Blackhawks management know what he wanted to do ahead of the 2022-23 season.

"Even if the Blackhawks would eat a good portion of their cap hits (Kane and Jonathan Toews), there aren’t a lot of teams who are budgeting for those types of additions," Powers wrote.

According to Powers, the trade deadline during the season might be the "the more realistic opportunity" for the Blackhawks to move Kane if they choose to.

"They've basically traded everyone he's ever enjoyed playing with," one person told Powers about Kane's status in Chicago.

In the aftermath of free agency, a Kane deal at this point could be very difficult to pull off. The 33-year-old has a $10.5 million contract in 2022-23, the final season of his eight-year, $84 million contract signed in July 2014.

Per CapFriendly.com, there are only eight teams with enough cap space to fit Kane onto their roster.

Given Kane's age and contract status, he would most likely be looking to find a new home with a team that has Stanley Cup aspirations next season.

Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson has been incredibly active since March, trading away Brandon Hagel, Marc-Andre Fleury, Alex DeBrincat and Kirby Dach. Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik left the team as free agents earlier this month.

Chicago has missed the playoffs in four of the past five seasons. It hasn't won a postseason series since defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2015 Stanley Cup Final.

Despite the ongoing struggles for the Blackhawks and the rebuilding effort by the front office, Kane remains a productive offensive player. He finished seventh in the league with 66 points and tied for 14th with 92 points.