Best NHL Fits for Star Free-Agent Patrick Kane with Rangers Reportedly Out of Running
It is expected that free-agent winger Patrick Kane will sign with a new team at some point over the next couple of weeks.
He has already reportedly met with the Toronto Maple Leafs, per John Shannon, and will be in talks with several other teams to determine his best fit and which team can give him the best offer.
As recently as a couple of years ago, the addition of Kane to a contending team would have been a pretty significant move given his offensive production and playmaking ability.
But there are some serious concerns this season as to how effective he can—and will—actually be.
Along with being a severely flawed player at this stage of his career during five-on-five play (and especially defensively), he is also recovering from a hip resurfacing procedure this summer.
That is not an easy procedure to come back from, and we have already seen how difficult that can be this season with Nicklas Backstrom in Washington. His career seems to be on the brink of ending due to his hip issues.
The track record of players trying to return from that procedure (Backstrom, Ed Jovanovski, Carl Hagelin) is not encouraging.
Anybody that signs him to a multi-year deal would be taking a gigantic risk, so a one-year deal is probably the best bet from a team perspective.
But no matter what sort of contract he ends up signing, Kane is going to have his share of suitors, and we're here to determine who could be a good fit and vice versa.
One team that appears to be out of the running is his most recent club, the New York Rangers, as the New York Post's Larry Brooks reported this week that a reunion won't happen.
Toronto Maple Leafs
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What type of fit would the Maple Leafs be: Bad
It is kind of understandable why the Maple Leafs and Kane are connected.
Toronto is desperate for playoff success and under immense pressure to win, it needs to improve its scoring depth, and Kane is still a big name that would theoretically help solve those two issues.
But this isn't the type of player Toronto needs.
At this point in Kane's career, he is a one-dimensional playmaker who needs to be put into a perfect situation. He needs power-play minutes. He needs to be put into a role where his defensive shortcomings can be hidden.
Toronto is not the team that can offer that.
The Maple Leafs already have one of the best power-play units in the league, and while the Leafs have a significant need for more depth scoring, they really are not in a position where they can shelter and hide a defensive liability. Especially since their overall approach defensively this season has been lacking (26th in the league in expected goals against per 60 minutes).
This would be a move reeking of desperation and just chasing a big name.
It is the same mistake the Rangers made at the deadline a year ago. It did not work out.
Buffalo Sabres
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What type of fit would the Sabres be: Terrible
This does not seem to be a good match for anybody.
From a Buffalo perspective, it does not need another defensive liability in its lineup that is going to take playing time away from a young player. For as high as the expectations might have been for the Sabres at the start of the season, this is still a team that is in the rebuilding stage and trying to develop talent.
Kane would also only further worsen their flaws defensively.
From his perspective, if his goal is to try to be a part of another Stanley Cup contender, then Buffalo is definitely the wrong fit because even if it manages to end its 12-year playoff drought—which is looking more and more unlikely the longer this disappointing start continues—it is probably not a team that figures to be capable of a deep playoff run.
In short, the Sabres have other areas they need to address with the $9 million in salary-cap space they have available.
The resources here can be used in a better way.
Florida Panthers
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What type of fit would the Panthers be: Tricky, but a little more sensible
The issue for the Florida Panthers will be salary-cap space when defenseman Aaron Ekblad returns to the lineup following a shoulder injury, and trying to get Kane to sign for the bargain price they would need him to sign for to fit under the cap.
Ekblad has been practicing and could return soon, and when he does, the team's cap space will fall to under $1 million.
From a hockey standpoint, however, there could be a decent fit. For as good as the Panthers offense can be (and has been in the past), they have lost some scoring depth over the years and could use a little extra spark within their forward group.
Especially on the power play, where they rank 19th in the league.
As of Thursday, the Panthers only have five forwards on the roster with more than six points, as almost all of their offense has come from their top-five forwards. Florida might be the type of contender that puts him in a sheltered, power-play-driven role that hides his defensive shortcomings and allows him to focus entirely on what he does well—create plays and set up his teammates.
The Panthers are clearly focused on being contenders this season (which should appeal to Kane), especially after the team reached the Stanley Cup Final a year ago, and should explore every reasonable avenue it can. Florida has reportedly been in contact with Kane, per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski, and clearly sees him as somebody who can be a missing piece.
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Detroit Red Wings
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What type of fit would the Red Wings be: Intriguing
The Detroit Red Wings need to make a serious push for the playoffs to validate what general manager Steve Yzerman is doing in his rebuild of this once-proud franchise.
They have been one of the most aggressive teams in the league over the past two years in terms of free agency and trades, bringing in several veterans to try to complement their young core.
Kane would definitely fit in with that mindset.
The real intrigue, however, would be reuniting him with forward Alex DeBrincat.
Kane and DeBrincat were incredible together offensively during their time in Chicago from 2017-18 to 2021-22 and were one of the few bright spots those Blackhawks teams had.
DeBrincat is already off to an incredible start for the Red Wings with 10 goals in his first 15 games, and reuniting him with Kane could really help him sustain that pace and production. He had some of his best seasons offensively alongside Kane.
They could recapture that in Detroit and potentially push the Red Wings to their first playoff berth since the 2015-16 season.
Dallas Stars
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What type of fit would the Stars be: Strong, but with concerns
There are a lot of reasons this could work from a hockey standpoint.
For one, the Dallas Stars are most definitely the type of contender that Kane would want to be a part of.
They were in the Western Conference Final a year ago, have one of the league's best overall rosters and are the type of team that could probably shelter him in the role he is best suited for at this stage of his career. They could make this work and bring him in as a luxury for their power play and some extra scoring.
Now, for the potential concerns,
The biggest one is that Dallas only has about $600,000 in salary-cap space to work with and would need to figure out a way to clear out some money.
The second is that Dallas has one of the worst travel schedules in the league, something that reportedly does not appeal to Kane, especially after having a major hip surgery.
But for a chance to play on a top Stanley Cup contender with a serious chance at another ring, it might be the type of sacrifice that has to be made.
Salary-cap info via CapFriendly. Advanced statistics via Natural Stat Trick unless otherwise noted.
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