NEWSLETTER
On Monday morning, with the Blackhawks off until Friday, we got our first significant piece of news (sort of) regarding Patrick Kane‘s future with the Chicago Blackhawks. His agent, Pat Brisson (who also reps Jonathan Toews, Seth Jones, and many of the game’s top stars), spoke with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic over the weekend about Kane’s future.
And there was a clear historical comparison the two discussed.
Last season, Claude Giroux was in a very similar situation to Kane (and Toews) in Philadelphia. Philly was headed in the wrong direction and Giroux was in the final year of his contract. So, it was a known commodity that a guy who had only worn the Flyers’ sweater his entire career might wear a different one before the end of the year.
Giroux wound up being traded to Florida at the deadline, and is now skating with Alex DeBrincat after signing as a free agent in Ottawa.
“It’s very similar, yes,” Brisson told LeBrun. “The respect that both players have for each organization. Claude will have his number in the rafters in Philly one day, I do believe, and obviously Patrick as well in Chicago. Both players are very respected on those teams. Claude at the beginning of last season wanted to see how things were going to go with the Flyers. We realized pretty soon, by November, that if he wanted a chance at trying to win a Cup last season, he would have to make a decision. And he picked Florida. The Panthers were one of the most attractive teams at the trade deadline…
“It’s a very similar approach that we had with Claude,” Brisson said. “We’ll see how things go in Chicago. We’ll see how Patrick feels. We’ll probably explore things at the appropriate time later this season. I don’t want to put too much of a timeline on it. But it’s clear the Hawks won’t push him to make a decision one way or another.”
So, no news is good news? Or is it?
This is in line with everything that’s been discussed by Kane and general manager Kyle Davidson from the jump this season. The futures of Kane and Toews were topic No. 1 at the preseason-opening press conference for Davidson and the topic du jour when the two future Hall of Famers met with the media for the first time.
Here’s what Kane said back on Sept. 22 when he spoke with the media:
“There [are] very few players who end up playing their whole career with one team, right?” Kane said on Thursday in his first comments to the media since the summer trades. “Guys like Crosby and Malkin and Ovechkin, they’ll probably finish careers with the one team. But you see a lot of players now, they’re moving all over the place. So, like I said before, it’s not something I’ve thought of or anything I’m thinking about right now.”
LeBrun notes that Brisson represents seven players on the current Blackhawks roster, so he’s regularly in conversation with Davidson. But he reports “[the] current plan in place for Kane and the Blackhawks is for Brisson and GM Kyle Davidson to circle back to each other sometime in December or January and take stock of where each is at.”
It is noteworthy from the report, also, that LeBrun discusses the emotional adjustment Giroux faced when leaving Philly. His last game with the Flyers was his 1,000th as an NHL player, and they celebrated that achievement with him before he was traded to Florida. For Kane, who eclipsed that milestone already, the emotions of moving could be similar.
And LeBrun notes that those emotions may be a reason for teams to reach out earlier than the timeline he puts on the next conversation about the future of 88 — give Kane some time to get over a move and adjust to his new surroundings before helping his new team make a run at a championship.
LeBrun also touched on Toews’ future with their shared agent. While the Blackhawks would need to do some financial gymnastics to make Toews’ cap hit work for a contending team, he write that teams across the NHL still value Toews’ leadership and history of being a stud in big games. His agent (obviously) agreed:
“Jon would be an asset for a team,” Brisson told LeBrun. “Having Jonathan Toews in your locker room if you’re a contender trying to go deep, and having him play a role, I mean, geez, he could become an important piece as well… But obviously at this point, it’s a bit premature to speculate.”
Of course, all of this talk comes with the “if” attached — if Kane (or Toews for that matter) do ask for or accept a trade. And both players’ no-move clauses give them complete control of the situation.
Those NMCs are a major reason why LeBrun cautions Blackhawks fans to temper their hopes for a blockbuster return if Kane gets traded. For the sake of comparison, Philadelphia traded two players (German Rubtsov and Connor Bunnaman) and a firth-round pick to Florida with Giroux for Owen Tippett, a third-round pick in the 2023 draft and top-ten protected first-round pick in the 2024 draft.
Tippett was the 10th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft but had just 32 points in 87 games on his NHL resume at the time of the trade. Rubtsov and Bunnaman were 23-year-old prospects who had minimal NHL experience; Rubtsov is in the KHL this season.
Again, we’re going to hear about the futures of Kane and Toews this entire season. Right now, they’re both happy and the team has performed pretty well through three games under new head coach Luke Richardson. But the season figures to be a long struggle, and both players have legacies to consider.
Do they want to wear just one sweater their entire careers? Or will the possibility of chasing a ring this coming spring be enough for them to entertain the conversation? For now, it’s wait and see in Chicago.
