NHL Rumors: Patrick Kane, Rangers Trade 'Not Impossible' Before 2023 Deadline

Patrick Kane getting traded to the New York Rangers may be a long shot at this point, but it reportedly isn't completely out of the question.

ESPN's Emily Kaplan wrote: "I believe he has asked to explore whether going to the Rangers is still an option. It's not impossible, but it would require serious maneuvering."

Kaplan also noted that Kane had been eager to join the Rangers if he was ultimately traded by the Chicago Blackhawks:

"Based on conversations I've had with sources around the league, the behind-the-scenes talks with the Rangers were more advanced than have been reported. There was a path for Kane going to New York, his preferred destination should he leave Chicago, and then suddenly it felt as if it was taken away—which is why you saw him react so vulnerably to the Vladimir Tarasenko trade."

The Rangers traded Sammy Blais, Hunter Skinner, a 2023 conditional first-round pick and a 2024 fourth-rounder to the St. Louis Blues for Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola. And Kane publicly spoke about his disappointment in learning of that trade.

"It's not like the happiest I've been to hear about a trade," he told reporters on Feb. 10. "I think the Rangers are a team that you definitely pay attention to and definitely are intrigued by, for obvious reasons."

"If things were going to happen, that was a team I was definitely looking at," he added. "It seems like they kind of filled their void and went ahead and made a deal, so it is what it is."

Both Kane and Tarasenko play on the right wing, with Kane posting 42 points in 53 games this season and Tarasenko scoring 33 points in 44 total games.

Any change of address for Kane, even if it isn't the Rangers, would be a first. The 34-year-old has spent his entire 16-year career in Chicago, winning three Stanley Cup titles with the team. He's become a fixture of the franchise alongside the likes of Jonathan Toews, though with the team at the bottom of the standings, a move elsewhere this season would make sense.

Whether that's to New York remains to be seen.