Golden Knights A Potential Landing Spot For Patrick Kane, Per Weekes

The 2023 NHL Trade Deadline is only a week away, and the Vegas Golden Knights are likely in the market for a forward. Given the unfortunate injury status of captain Mark Stone and the overall lack of depth at forward, making an addition at forward is seemingly inevitable for general manager Kelly McCrimmon.

Many names are out there on the trade market but perhaps none bigger than Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks, the Golden Knights' next opponent.

In a recent Tweet, Kevin Weekes of ESPN stated that the Golden Knights are a potential landing spot for Kane.

Elliotte Friedman backed up the idea of the Golden Knights being in on Kane in the latest 32 Thoughts Podcast.

"I think it is some combination of Vegas, Dallas, or Edmonton, and we will see if anyone else shows up here," said Friedman.

Kane is a future Hockey Hall of Fame winger with three Stanley Cups to his name as well as multiple other awards. With the Blackhawks in the middle of a rebuild and his $10.5 million AAV contract expiring this summer, the Blackhawks are appropriately looking to trade Kane for picks and prospects.

But given his no-movement clause, the decision is all reliant on what he wants to do with his career. On Sunday, fellow longtime Blackhawk Jonathan Toews announced that he would be stepping away from the game to deal with Long COVID Chronic Immune Response Syndrome. This likely means Toews will not be traded at the deadline, and he may not play for the rest of the season.

Kane now has 14 goals and 41 points on the season in 52 games played with the struggling Blackhawks. He is 34 years old, has a massive cap hit that comes with a no-trade clause, meaning he will get to choose his trade destination and is also apparently dealing with an injury. 

"There’s an undercurrent of buzz around Patrick Kane. Teams of interest worry about his health. We know that he missed some time not that long ago with that hip issue. Those things don’t magically disappear. I think that’s been something lingering with Kane in other seasons. What's his health going to be like? If he aggravates it between now and March 3rd, are we 100% sure that he's on the trade market?" said Darren Dreger on TSN 1050 Toronto.

We have seen three big trades for forwards recently in the NHL, with the New York Islanders acquiring Bo Horvat, the New York Rangers Vladamir Tarasenko, and the Maple Leafs Ryan O'Reilly. These deals have set the price tag for a top forward at the deadline.

The Golden Knights fittingly play the Blackhawks next on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. on the road.

For all of Vegas Hockey Now's trade deadline content, check out our trade roundup page