In the past week, Patrick Kane has reminded the NHL of his greatness.
“Showtime” has seven goals and 10 points over his past four games — the first time he has scored seven goals in a four-game span since 2016-17. The timing — one week out from the NHL trade deadline — could not have been better.
Kane’s mini-renaissance has ramped up the chatter around him, and recent reports suggest that the New York Rangers remain interested in him, even after acquiring Vladimir Tarasenko earlier this month. The team’s decision to hold out forwards Vitali Kravtsov and Jake Leschyshyn on Thursday for “roster-management reasons” sent speculation into overdrive.
“If you look at the Rangers’ lineup, there’s room for him on the right side,” Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman said Thursday on The Jeff Marek Show.
The addition of Kane would give the Rangers a top six that seemed only possible in “NHL 23.” He would join Tarasenko, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Vincent Trocheck and old running buddy Artemi Panarin. In seven games with Tarasenko in the lineup, the Rangers have averaged 3.54 expected goals per game in all situations — up from 2.97 per game before the trade.
When Chicago traded Panarin to the Columbus Blue Jackets in June 2017, Kane said it made him “pretty emotional.” Kane and Panarin made magic together with the Blackhawks, who scored 58.4 per cent of the 5-on-5 goals (52-37) when those two were on the ice in 2016-17.
“I feel like he was probably one of the players that came in that was maybe more gifted, talented than me,” Kane told The Athletic earlier this season.
It is easy to imagine Kane and Panarin picking up where they left off six years ago with either Zibanejad or Trocheck in the middle.
Rangers coach Gerard Gallant has tried a few different combinations since Tarasenko came aboard. On Thursday, Gallant went with Panarin, Trocheck and Tarasenko against the Detroit Red Wings. Although that line had a rough night in the Rangers’ 4-1 loss, it has a 78.7 xGF percentage in 32:11 of even-strength ice time.
Tarasenko has also clicked with Kreider and Zibanejad. If Kane joins the Rangers, the possibilities at 5-on-5 seem endless.
The same goes for the power play, where Kane remains a highly effective playmaker. Tarasenko has replaced Trocheck on the Rangers’ No. 1 unit with Zibanejad, Kreider, Panarin and Adam Fox. Kane could be a secret weapon of sorts.
As Friedman told Marek on Thursday, the Rangers would need to perform “a little bit of surgery” to acquire Kane, likely needing the Blackhawks to retain 50 per cent of his $10.5-million cap hit and another team to take on 25 per cent. That would leave a manageable $2.625 million for the Rangers.
We can dare to dream.
