NEWSLETTER
At this point, it’s probably safe to assume that Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews will begin the season with the Blackhawks. How long they will remain on the roster thereafter, however, is a more difficult question to answer. But not for a lack of information.
For example, we already know that Jonathan Toews isn’t thrilled with the rebuild timeline, thanks to Mark Lazerus’ exclusive sit-down with Toews earlier this week.
As for Patrick Kane, it’s been radio silence since we met with him at the end of the season at the United Center. On draft night, his agent Pat Brisson said that both Kane and Toews (whom he also represents) would meet with the Blackhawks and discuss their future. Kyle Davidson and Luke Richardson said earlier this month at the development camp that they’ve spoken with the two superstars, and despite Toews’ apprehension in the Laz interview, they made it sound like the two are prepared to open the season in a Blackhawks sweater.
But by contrast, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period and NHL Network reported this afternoon that the Blackhawks have engaged with teams about a trade for Patrick Kane:
The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus says that, according to his source, not so fast:
Who you’re to believe is up to you, but I will offer this bit of context: David Pagnotta is very close to Pat Brisson, the agent for Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, so if anyone were going to have information coming from their camp, it would likely be Pagnotta. This is purely speculative, but I would assume that Laz’s source is inside the Blackhawks organization.
So, we have conflicting reports, and there’s a good chance the reports are coming from the two opposite sides in this dynamic, which is to say, we’re really no closer to an answer now than we were when we woke up this morning.
As Laz points out, his nugget of information isn’t to say that interested teams haven’t been kicking the tires on a potential deal to land the superstar forward, just that the Blackhawks just aren’t engaging in those discussions.
Stay tuned.
