Chicago Blackhawks

The rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks are still sitting on a number of tradable assets this season, including team captain Jonathan Toews and star winger Patrick Kane, though both need to waive their no-movement clauses in order to be dealt.

However, Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson told ESPN's Emily Kaplan that the team has had "zero" conversations with other teams on a deal for Kane, adding that he doesn't "foresee anything" happening soon.

Davidson didn't provide any clarity on where things stand with Toews, but Kaplan reports she's "heard that some teams are looking at" the veteran center given his respectable start to the 2022-23 campaign.

The Athletic's Mark Lazerus reported in July that the Blackhawks hadn't had any trade discussions involving Kane, so things appear to be status quo on that front.

Kane is in his 16th season in the NHL, all spent with the Blackhawks, and is in the final season of an eight-year, $84 million deal worth $10.5 million.

The 33-year-old has helped Chicago win three Stanley Cups, been named an All-Star four times and has won the Art Ross, Hart, Calder and Conn Smythe Trophies. He has tallied 432 goals and 758 assists in 1,119 regular-season games.

Through 12 games this season, the 2007 first overall pick has tallied two goals and eight assists.

Toews has also spent his entire 15-year career in Chicago and was a member of the team's three Stanley Cup victories from 2010-15. The 2013 second-team All-Star has won the Smythe and Selke Trophies as well as the Mark Messier Leadership Award.

The 34-year-old has notched 364 goals and 497 assists in 1,026 games. He has tallied seven goals and two assists in 12 games this season.

In an interview with Lazerus in July, Toews said that remaining with the team through a rebuild "doesn't sound appealing to me at all." However, he added that he wasn't sure what his future would look like:

"I can't speak for Kaner, but I definitely feel that the amount of turnover our team has gone through every single year these last three or four years, that's where it gets really, really draining. And exhausting. You have a guy like who was under Kaner's wing. And I like to think that Kirby [Dach] and I had that bond in some ways too. And out they go, out the door. Over and over, we've seen that turnover.

"I'm learning to be more patient, but there's no doubt that timeline is pretty daunting, and pretty exhausting to think about. So, I'm not going to sit here and say what I'm going to do or what the future holds for me, because I really don't know."

Like Kane, Toews is also in the last year of his contract, which is worth $10.5 million in 2022-23. It's unclear which teams might be interested in acquiring him.

Trade rumors surrounding Kane and Toews began around the 2022 NHL draft when the Blackhawks made a number of moves to signal they were entering a rebuild, including trading Alex DeBrincat to the Ottawa Senators and Dach to the Montreal Canadiens.

If Chicago (5-5-2) trades Kane or Toews ahead of the deadline in March, it will mark the end of an era.

The Chicago Blackhawks are off to an 0-2 start to the NHL season after losing to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night. It's possibly a sign of things to come, as they are likely to struggle throughout the 2022-23 campaign.

There's also one big question surrounding Chicago: Will Patrick Kane be on the team by the time the season is over?

Trade rumors have been swirling about the right winger, who has spent his entire 16-year NHL career with the Blackhawks. And he's experienced plenty of success with the franchise, winning three Stanley Cups.

However, it could be time for Kane and the rebuilding Blackhawks to part ways. It might be best for both sides if he wasn't in Chicago by season's end, and there's a decent chance that will be the case.

According to Pierre LeBrun of TSN, Kane could be moved by the Blackhawks before the trade deadline on March 3, even though he "wasn't ready to have that conversation" with the team during the summer. He has a full no-movement clause in his contract, so he's in control of the situation.

"My sense of it is that his agent, Pat Brisson, and Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson have talked and said, 'Let's circle back to each other around December and January and see where things stand,'" LeBrun told TSN's Insider Trading.

What could change between now and then for Chicago? As LeBrun noted, with the Blackhawks likely to struggle, the losing "will probably grow tiring" for Kane, and he may then "be ready to talk trade."

Kane is still only 33, so he has some productive years still ahead of him. But it isn't clear how long it will take the Blackhawks to get back to being a contender. They have missed the playoffs four of the past seasons (including each of the past two years), and they've made it clear they're rebuilding with recent moves.

After the season, Kane will be an unrestricted free agent. It's quite possible he'll sign elsewhere. So, it would be wise for him to leave Chicago now, giving him an opportunity to win a Stanley Cup with a contending team at the end of this season.

There should be plenty of teams interested in adding an offensive player as talented as Kane. LeBrun indicated that the New York Rangers and New York Islanders are "decent possibilities" as potential suitors.

Those teams are in a better position to win now. And by adding Kane to an already talented roster, either could become a legitimate Cup contender and go on a deep run come May and June.

First, though, he will have to be ready to move on from the only NHL franchise he's known. Considering he's played 1,109 games for the team and been entrenched in the city of Chicago, it's easy to see why that may be difficult.

However, it's the right move for Kane at this point in his career. And the Blackhawks would benefit from getting draft picks and/or prospects in return, so they should be ready to part ways, too.

The Chicago Blackhawks signaled that they would be entering a rebuild after trading rising stars Alex DeBrincat and Kirby Dach during the 2022 NHL draft in July, and the selling of star players could continue this winter with Patrick Kane.

The 33-year-old is entering the final year of an eight-year, $84 million contract with the Blackhawks and is set to earn $10.5 million in 2022-23. He had been included in numerous rumors throughout the summer due to the assets Chicago could get in a trade including the veteran, in addition to his possible unwillingness to stick around for a rebuild.

Kane's NHL career is entering its final stages, and if he wants a chance to add another Stanley Cup to his resume, remaining with the Blackhawks might not be the best option.

It's difficult to imagine the team improving on its finish to the 2021-22 campaign in which it finished seventh in the Central Division with 68 points and missed the playoffs.

The Athletic's 2022-23 season projection for the Blackhawks also has the team finishing toward the bottom of the NHL standings and lists the franchise's best-case scenario as finishing last in the league and winning the draft lottery:

"The Blackhawks are going to be bad. Very bad. Among one of the worst in the league. Whether they sink to the very bottom depends on how much player movement there is during the year to send NHL-caliber players out. The expectation should be that quite a few are on the move by the time the deadline rolls around."

All that said, it remains to be seen whether Kane wants a move away from the team he has spent his entire 15-year NHL career and won three Stanley Cups with.

The Buffalo, New York native told reporters on Sept. 22 that he had been blocking out the trade rumors over the summer. He added that while he realizes he could be moved this season, it's "not really anything" he has been thinking about just yet.

By the time the trade deadline approaches, seeking a move could well be on his mind, especially if the Blackhawks are near the foot of the Western Conference standings.

So, lets take a look at some hypothetical trade packages if Kane does hit the market.

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New York Rangers 

The New York Rangers have been linked to Kane since the 2021-22 season's trade deadline.

The Blueshirts were one of the most exciting teams in the NHL last season, finishing second in the Metropolitan Division with 110 points. It was their best end to a regular season since 2014-15.

However, they were unable to get over the hump in the postseason, falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Finals in six games.

Could Kane be the player to get them back into the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since they fell to the Los Angeles Kings in 2014? It's possible, but what sort of package would general manager Chris Drury need to offer the Blackhawks to land him?

Well, one idea would be to offer winger Alexis Lafrenière and New York's 2023 first-round pick to Chicago in exchange for Kane.

The Rangers selected Lafrenière first overall in the 2020 NHL draft, and there was plenty of hype surrounding him at the time, with some even comparing him to Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.

However, the 20-year-old has failed to live up to those expectations in two seasons with the Rangers.

During his rookie year, he notched 12 goals and nine assists for 21 points in 56 games. Last season, he tallied 19 goals and 12 assists for 31 points in 79 games. That's not much of an improvement.

Lafrenière has also been buried on New York's depth chart, and he is playing on the third line, sitting behind first-liner Chris Kreider and second-liner Artemi Panarin. He's not going to surpass either of those names any time soon.

If he was traded to the Blackhawks, he would be getting top-six minutes, which would likely be better for his development and career.

Some Rangers fans might not like this proposed trade, but it's what it takes to bring in an elite scorer like Kane. In addition, The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta reported in March that New York would be open to trading Lafrenière if the return was significant, so the winger isn't untouchable.

That said, it's unclear if adding Kane would be significant enough for the team to part with Lafrenière.

However, the thought of reuniting Kane and Panarin on the same line in the Big Apple should be enticing enough for the Rangers to consider it.

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Edmonton Oilers

Like the Rangers, the Edmonton Oilers would be an intriguing destination for Kane.

They finished second in the Pacific Division last season with 104 points and reached the Western Conference Finals before being eliminated by eventual Stanley Cup champion, the Colorado Avalanche.

Edmonton is on the cusp of contending for a title, and adding Kane could help put the team over the edge in 2022-23.

However, it's important to note the Oilers would have to get creative in order to fit him under the salary cap. The franchise is nearly $7.6 million over the limit, per CapFriendly, so something would need to be done to create enough space to fit Kane on the roster.

Provided the Oilers free up some cap space, one trade option for general manager Ken Holland would be to package Jesse Puljujarvi, a couple of solid prospects and a 2023 first-round pick in exchange for Kane.

Puljujarvi, the fourth overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft, has never lived up to the hype. In 65 games last season, he tallied 14 goals and 22 assists 36 points. Moving him to Chicago would allow him to see consistent top-six minutes.

Trading a first-round pick speaks for itself, and the rebuilding Blackhawks would most likely want a first-rounder in any deal for Kane.

As for prospects, moving a player such as Raphaël Lavoie and/or Philip Broberg could be intriguing to the Blackhawks.

Broberg, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2019 draft, had a solid 2021-22 season with the AHL's Bakersfield Condors. The 21-year-old blueliner tallied four goals and 19 assists for 23 points in 31 games. He also appeared in 23 games for the Oilers, notching one goal and two assists.

Winger Lavoie, 22, also spent last season with the Condors, tallying 13 goals and 26 points in 56 games.

Broberg is more of a high-end prospect, while his teammate would be considered a mid-level prospect.

If the Oilers landed Kane, it's reasonable to believe he would play on the first line alongside Evander Kane and Connor McDavid. Adding him to the Edmonton offense would make it even more potent.

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Los Angeles Kings

The Los Angeles Kings took a big leap forward in 2021-22 with a combination of veterans and fresh faces who helped them make the playoffs for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign, and that success could continue in 2022-23.

The Kings finished third in the Pacific Division with 99 points before being eliminated by the Oilers in seven games in the first round of the playoffs. Adding a player like Kane could help the team get out of the first round for the first time since 2014, when they won the Stanley Cup.

Chicago would likely need to retain some of Kane's salary to make a deal work, but L.A. could offer a trade package that would make doing so worthwhile.

Kings general manager Rob Blake could look to package Alex Turcotte, a 2023 first-round pick and a mid-round pick in a deal for Kane.

The draft selections will surely be enticing for the Blackhawks as the 2023 class is expected to be loaded with talent. In addition, Turcotte could be inserted into the team's lineup this season and see a good amount of playing time that would help his development.

The 21-year-old was selected fifth overall in the 2019 NHL draft but didn't make his debut until the 2021-22 season in which he tallied zero points in eight games. He spent most of last season with Ontario Reign in the AHL, recording six goals and 12 assists in 27 games.

The Kings have plenty of young talent, so Turcotte is expendable. Adding Kane to a lineup that already includes Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala could really change the outlook of the entire 2022-23 season for the franchise.