NHL Rumors: Patrick Kane Only Considering Rangers Trade Ahead of 2023 Deadline

Chicago Blackhawks star forward Patrick Kane is reportedly only interested in a move to the New York Rangers ahead of Friday's NHL trade deadline.

According to Scott Powers of The Athletic, other teams have shown interest in Kane, but they "don't appeal" to him like the Rangers do.

Emily Kaplan of ESPN later reported there's "momentum" toward a deal that would send Kane to New York:

The 34-year-old Kane, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft, has spent his 16-year career with Chicago.

Kane has built a Hall of Fame résumé and led the team to championship glory on three occasions.

Entering Saturday, Kane had 446 goals and 779 assists for 1,225 points in 1,161 regular-season games. He also has 52 goals and 80 assists for 132 points in 136 career playoff contests.

Kane has won many of the NHL's top awards, including the Art Ross Trophy and Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's leading scorer and MVP in 2015-16. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy as Rookie of the Year in 2007-08 and the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2012-13.

Chicago hasn't won it all since 2015 and is on track to miss the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons.

Since the team is just 20-32-5, and Kane is set to become a free agent at the end of the season, trading him would likely be an ideal scenario for the franchise.

He could net draft picks and young players to kick-start a rebuild, plus trading him would increase Chicago's chances of losing down the stretch and landing the No. 1 pick in the draft to select star forward Connor Bedard.

Kane is in the midst of his worst NHL season with 16 goals and 29 assists in 54 games, and his minus-23 rating would be the worst of his career.

That could point to declining skills, but it is also possible he would play better with an improved supporting cast. Kane reportedly needs hip surgery as well.

The Rangers reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season and are in playoff position this season. They could offer Kane the chance to play alongside Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider.

Kane has a no-movement clause in his contract, so he can essentially dictate where he goes, and that arguably gives the Rangers an upper hand in negotiations if he only wants to play for them.

Because of that, it isn't outside the realm of possibility that Chicago will keep Kane if it doesn't get an offer to its liking, as there is still value in the franchise's second-leading all-time point scorer when it comes to ticket sales.