Sam Lafferty Is Sitting Out Tonight for “Trade-Related Reasons”
Patrick Kane will be out of the Blackhawks lineup tonight in San Jose because his trade to the New York Rangers appears to be imminent. Now center Sam Lafferty is going to sit out tonight because of trade-related reasons as well.
Note: given the Rangers’ cap space situation (that we’ve been over about a million times already), it’s hard to imagine Lafferty going to New York with Kane. But the line of teams interested in Lafferty isn’t short, either.
Lafferty has been all over trade rumors recently because he’s having a marvelous season, so it makes sense that someone would step up and make the Blackhawks an offer at some point before the deadline. The timing of said deal could hit the Blackhawks at an awkward time; removing both Lafferty and Kane from the lineup at the same time is a lot of ice time to fill and some important roles.
