I can’t believe there are human beings, identifying as New York Rangers fans, that would prefer Patrick Kane to sign elsewhere. Show yourselves! What is this song and dance? Is it to get clicks? A moral high ground? I really have no idea. It’s baffling these people exist and walk among us. Who knows what else they’re capable of.
Kane’s First Impression As A Blueshirt
Kane was just average for the Rangers after coming over at this year’s trade deadline. That much I’ll concede. He had 5 goals and 7 assists across 19 regular season games on Broadway, along with 1 goal and 5 assists in 7 playoff games. Some nights he was super noticeable and other nights harder to find. I can only imagine how tough it must’ve been to leave Chicago and all the memories behind, relocate the family, join a team in the midst of a stretch run, learn a new system and mesh with a new group of guys. Nevertheless, this is New York and nobody wants to hear that, which is fair.
There’s an elephant in the room, though. A narrative everyone was obsessed with for weeks leading up to the trade deadline, only for it to be shoved under the rug when the playoffs dominated attention. I refuse to let it be forgotten.
His bum hip! Patrick Kane wasn’t close to 100% last season and nobody cares to factor that in. Dr. Edwin Hsu surgically repaired Kane’s hip just days after the Rangers were eliminated, yet the pundits are happy to blindly evaluate his playoff performance at face value. Obviously, everyone plays through injury, especially in the spring. Still, for a skill and finesse guy in the back half of his career like Kane, it definitely throws a wrench into his production. Not for nothing, he blatantly told reporters he could’ve helped the Rangers win that series against the Devils if he felt better. That’s a pretty bold statement from a veteran who’s had more than a decade of experience speaking to the media.
I mean, given what we now know about his health and hearing him share that sort of sentiment – how impressive is that goal he scored in the third period of Game 2?? Take me back to that moment in time.
The hip aside, I’m not sure where people find the audacity to say he’s “washed”. Patrick Kane is washed when he tells you he’s washed. If you want to pull up advanced analytics on his defensive metrics, I won’t have a rebuttal. They’re probably pretty lackluster. Nobody in their right mind is relying on him for defense, especially at this stage of his career. We’re talking about a 3x Stanley Cup Champion that’s made a living off being a stone cold killer in the offensive zone. Sure, he’s in the twilight of his career, but the hockey IQ, the wizardry with the puck, the lethal wrist shot and the competitive spirit is still ablaze.
You also can’t put a price tag on the wisdom and golden nuggets he’ll surely share with younger guys in the locker room that this organization is counting on to evolve. If Alexis Lafrenière is going to have success switching from LW to RW, who better to consult than his idol, Patrick Kane?
Long Term Injured Reserve (LTIR) Sorcery
It’s time now to address the other elephant, sitting in the other corner of the room. The biggest secret in hockey these days is to leverage the LTIR to circumvent the salary cap constraints. I’m no expert on the salary cap, but I’ll elaborate on what I do know.
Hockey isn’t like baseball, where a rich owner can empty his bank account on ginormous contracts and field a World Series contender in one offseason. The business of the NHL is order of magnitudes smaller than the MLB, and other major professional sports for that matter. Just take a look at what the top players are getting paid. Connor McDavid is owed $11 million this upcoming season, while Mike Trout is owed $35 million/year until 2030. Apples to oranges.
The NHL’s salary cap is set at ~$83.5 million for the 2023-2024 season, with rumors it could be increasing by ~$1 million either this season or in subsequent seasons. General managers must toe the line of paying the superstars what they deserve, finding value in contracts with role players and cutting ties with dead weight. In recent years, teams have conveniently been able to stash guys on the LTIR in order to keep themselves below the salary cap. Then when the playoffs roll around, you’re able to activate the rested and recuperated ace up your sleeve.
Chris Drury isn’t asleep at the wheel and is tracking this phenomenon closely. He remembers how valuable Nikita Kucherov was for the 2021 Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning. He remembers how Kucherov was activated off the LTIR for Game 1 of the opening round and went on to lead all skaters with 18 playoff points in 11 games. More recently, he recognizes how last year’s champions, the Vegas Golden Knights, were able to leverage the LTIR to activate their captain Mark Stone for Game 1 of the playoffs, after he hadn’t suited up since January. He can assume the Colorado Avalanche plan to follow suit this upcoming season, with their injured captain Gabriel Landeskog.
Why can’t Drury and the Rangers game the system too, and keep Kane on the LTIR until he’s more than comfortable to play?
If Not New York, Then Where?
As I sit here and speculate on his future, the truth is, it’s very hard to speculate on his future. It’s none of my business at the end of the day. Who knows what he prioritizes at this stage of his life. My money would be on the comfort of his family and playing good hockey for a Cup contender, as 1a & 1b priorities, one way or the other.
I do have this overwhelming hunch there’s an element of this that involves Kane’s pride as an athlete. He’s a hockey purist. He cares deeply about the game, the history of the NHL and where he fits into the story. At this point of his career, he’s become thoughtful and pensive, compared to his younger years of partying like a rock star in Chicago. He’s well aware of the fact last season was a massive disappointment for the Rangers and painfully aware he’s very much associated with it. It feels pretty obvious, to me at least, he’d prefer to be remembered as part of the solution in New York, rather than hitching a ride to a Cup somewhere else. I think it’s going to bother him if his resume says, “Wow, what a legend in Chicago. What a weapon he was for USA hockey. But what happened in New York?”. At the very least, I think he wants the opportunity to right the wrong.
Alas, if Kane is adamant about getting paid the money he deserves, the Rangers can’t afford him. I can’t knock him if that ends up being the case. As the all-time great that he is, he certainly has the right to seek fair compensation, like any rational employee in other lines of work would do. The haters will be crestfallen when they learn that half the league is willing to pay for his services when he’s fully healthy and ready to return.
One of the rumblings floating around is a potential match in Detroit with the Red Wings. I’m all for the rumor mill, but this feels like a pretty tired one. Steve Yzerman and the Wings aren’t ready to win now. Some pretty noteworthy beat reporter dudes have shared Kane would be interested in playing with Alex DeBrincat again and Detroit is expected to make a push. No way! Kane is linked to a younger stud he used to play with? Not very profound, in my humble opinion. More breaking news, there’s water at the bottom of the ocean!
Some other outside options I’ve come across are the Colorado Avalanche, the Dallas Stars and the New York Islanders (please no).
If he goes somewhere, I hope it’s Buffalo. He’s from Buffalo, his dad is a longtime season ticket holder and Patrick’s favorite player growing up was Pat LaFontaine. I can take my Rangers rose-colored glasses off for a second to appreciate how cool that would be. He’d be joining a dynamic young nucleus of Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin, Dylan Cozens, Owen Power, Devon Levi, and more. I can’t say they’re ready to win now either, but you’d be hard pressed to find many other teams with a brighter future.
Playing pro hockey in your home town can be more polarizing than people think, though. Some guys like it, others find it to be more of a nuisance and a distraction. You’re trying to focus on the task at hand of succeeding as a pro athlete and then your cousin’s friend’s boyfriend’s brother is harassing you over Instagram direct messages for tickets. Michigan native Dylan Larkin has publicly talked about the added responsibilities of taking care of people at home, playing for the Red Wings. On the other hand, it feels like Alex Tuch has relished the opportunity to come home and play for the Sabres after spending a few years in Vegas. Not sure where Kane’s head is at in this regard.
So Where Are We Now?
TSN’s Darren Dreger has reported that Kane’s rehab has been going swimmingly and he’s been training in Toronto for the past few months. Of course, he’s not expected to be ready for opening night and probably requires at least another month before he’s ready to play after the season kicks off. Even then, that would make a four month recovery window from when he had the operation in June, which is on on the shorter end of a hip resurfacing recovery timeline. Seems like he’s ahead of schedule, but any team that signs him should probably expect a whole range of outcomes as to when he’s ready to come back. (Hence the LTIR… nudge nudge, wink wink).
Regardless of what the future holds, I’m really happy to hear the progress he’s making. Before the surgery, Kane shared with reporters he still feels young and spry at 34 years old. He feels the passion is still there and knows he can be a top player if his focus is solely on hockey instead of how he feels. His agent, Pat Brisson, has shared that there’s a belief, after speaking with Kane’s doctors, that he plans to play for “a long time” with this operation behind him.
The Hidden Bias (Deal With It)
You can say I’m biased in all this and you’re probably right. For the majority of hockey fans my age and younger, as well as guys playing in the NHL right now, Patrick Kane was the guy. A modern day superhero on skates. The sheer talent with the puck on his stick like a yo-yo, the big game performer reputation, the showmanship, the hair, the celebrations, the energy, the swagger. It was all so mesmerizing. Everything about his 16 seasons in a Blackhawks sweater was a sight to behold. Drafted 1st overall in ’07 with all the hype in the world and he exceeded even the loftiest expectations.
I’m grateful to have witnessed the prime of the greatest American born hockey player’s career (sorry, Brian Leetch). When the move to the Rangers became official, it truly felt like a dream. One of the ones where you become aware you’re dreaming and do everything in your power not to wake up. I wasn’t going to miss his MSG debut on that random Thursday night against Ottawa for the world. What a special night that was – getting to MSG early, schmoozing the usher to get down low for warmups, nervous anticipation for no reason, watching him step out onto the ice in blue for the first time, standing there in awe as he glides around like a shark with music bumping under that iconic ceiling, and soaking in the warm reception when he was introduced. Another moment I wish I could’ve paused in time. Anything was possible.
I desperately want “Showtime” to continue on Broadway. Shame on you for wanting to close the curtains.
geryblogs 
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