Patrick Kane trade grades: Rangers score ‘A+’ by snagging one of the trade deadline’s biggest bargains

Patrick Kane finally became a New York Ranger. It took the Rangers a while to build up salary cap space to sign Kane, but they were able to do so on Tuesday afternoon.

The Rangers sent the Chicago Blackhawks a conditional 2023 second-round pick and a 2023 fourth-round pick in exchange for Kane. If the Rangers win two rounds of the playoffs this year, the conditional second-round pick will become a first-round pick in 2024 or 2025.

The Arizona Coyotes were brought in as a third party to keep some of Kane’s salary and give the Rangers a chance to put him under the cap. In exchange for keeping 25% of Kane’s cap, the Coyotes received a 2025 third-round pick from the Rangers.

Let’s take a closer look at how all three teams pulled out of this deal.

New York Rangers

Slam dunks don’t get much easier than that. The Rangers were Shaquille O’Neal playing with the Little Tikes hoop.

Kane had a total travel ban, and it did the Rangers a great deal. New York was the preferred location for the Kane trade, and as a result, the Rangers only needed to forgo a conditional second and fourth round pick to get one of the greatest American players in NHL history.

Kane’s detractors will say he’s nothing more than a shell of the player who led the Blackhawks to three Stanley Cups and won the Hart Trophy in 2016. At 34, Kane is probably not the same player anymore, but there are rumors of his passing. maybe at least a little exaggerated.

While it is true that Kane is on pace for one of the worst seasons of his career and that his defensive play has deteriorated in recent years, the quality of the squad around him has been terrible.

For example, Kane’s teammates in the 2022/23 season included Max Domi, Sam Lafferty, Andreas Athanasiou, Philip Kurashev, Jason Dickinson and Tyler Johnson. Despite a less than ideal situation, Kane still scored 16 goals and 29 assists in 54 games.

Is Kane going to return for the season with 30 goals and 80 points? Probably not, but the last couple seasons in Chicago probably haven’t been the best indicator of what he has left in the tank. Additionally, Kane could reunite with former Blackhawks teammate Artemi Panarin in New York.

Kane and Panarin spent two seasons together in Chicago from 2015 to 2017. During this time, Kane scored 80 goals and made 115 assists for 195 points in 164 games. This period also includes his 2015-16 MVP season. If Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant puts Kane and Panarin together, that could be the spark that ignites Kane again.

The bottom line is that the Rangers got another great offensive playmaker at a bargain price. Kane’s best days may be behind him, but it’s hard to believe he won’t be better than the Rangers, who now boast one of the top six hitting groups in the league. Keeping the Blueshirts on the sidelines will be a challenge for their playoff rivals. Grade – A+

Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks’ hands were tied here. They could either leave Kane their swansong in Chicago until the end of the season and risk losing him for nothing on the loose, or trade him to the Rangers. That’s all. These were their two options.

This decision probably did not come easily to Chicago. Kane is a franchise icon. He has three Stanley Cup rings and the Hart Trophy. One day, number 88 will climb the rafters at the United Center and a statue of him will be erected outside the arena.

Deciding to part ways with Kane before the trade deadline, the Blackhawks had little to no leverage due to his no-move clause. At some point, this exchange became more about doing Kane a favor and giving him a chance to win another Cup than anything else.

Because of all these factors, this return is incredibly disappointing. There was no guaranteed first round pick, no young player, no prospect.

Under more normal circumstances, Kane would have gone for a royal ransom by the due date, but these were not normal circumstances. The Blackhawks ditched the legendary due to the type of comeback commanded by the middle six forward. At the very least, Chicago fans can cheer for Kane and the Blackhawks in the playoffs in the hope that a conditional second-round pick becomes a first-round pick. Grade – D+

Arizona Coyotes

Keeping a great player’s salary unchanged for a mid-round draft pick. We call it Special Coyotes.

As a team that often flirts with the lower salary cap, the Coyotes have to make moves like this when trying to get out of the NHL’s basement. Luckily for them, the inevitable Jacob Chychran should return little more than a third round pick. Rated excellent-