NEWSLETTER
Updates from Friday as the Blackhawks practice in northern California:
The Blackhawks practiced in San Jose. Patrick Kane (maintenance) and Jake McCabe (non-COVID illness) were not on the ice. But David Gust, Jujhar Khaira and Jarred Tinordi were. The good news is it appears Khaira and Tinordi are close to coming back; the bad news is how they might get back into the lineup.
Khaira and Tinordi are still on IR; the Blackhawks would need to make a roster move to activate either of them because Chicago is already at the max 23 players active on the NHL roster. That roster move could be sending Gust or Isaak Phillips or Brett Seney back to Rockford. It could also be via trade.
To that end:
Rangers forwards Vitali Kravtsov and Jake Leschyshyn were healthy scratches on Thursday night and were not at an optional practice for the Rangers on Friday morning. UPDATE: neither was placed on waivers on Friday afternoon.
As I outlined earlier this morning, the Rangers might have an agreement in principal on the pieces involved in a trade for Kane, but they still need to make the cap space work.
According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, “The Rangers are trying to move him, either as part of a Kane package or to another club – the Montreal Canadiens are believed to have interest.”
If Johnston’s timeline is accurate, the Rangers would likely need to find a trade to move money off their books more immediately than the 24-hour waiver period. There have been reports that Rangers GM Chris Drury is actively working to move money off his books to facilitate a trade, should Kane decide to waive his no-move clause.
