Patrick Kane Basically Said He Wanted To Go To The Rangers But The Tarasenko Trade Took That Off The Table

All we ever hear from the Patrick Kane camp is that he is undecided of his future. For about a year now it's been "we'll see", "we'll talk later", "after Christmas", "after the all-star break", and finally "closer to the deadline". 

If that is your position then I don't think you can be so openly disappointed that your preferred destination has filled their RW need and their salary cap is now tapped out.

This quote makes it seem like Kane wanted the Rangers all along. If that were the case then somebody, somewhere along the way, fucked up. Could be Brisson. Could be Davidson. Could certainly be the Rangers because is Kane is a better player and in my opinion a better fit for the Rangers than Tarasenko. 

The quote reads worse than the audio in my opinion

But that is also how Kane sounds in every single media appearance for the last 10 years so who knows. 

He added further context to the situation (this is a stream of consciousness/available information blog at this point)

Nice to hear that the fuck up wasn't on Chicago's end. Perhaps it was a misplayed hand by Brisson. Or maybe Kane just genuinely hasn't made up his mind about staying or leaving, but if he left then the Rangers were his top choice. 

You'd have to think that the Blackhawks would've taken a comparable compensation package for Kane that the Rangers gave up for Tarasenko

Blues get the later of the 2 Rangers 2023 first-rounders, a conditional 2024 4th-rounder (becomes a 3rd when Rangers make the playoffs), F Sammy Blais & D prospect Hunter Skinner

A 1st round pick, a 3rd round pick, a useful bottom 6 player in his prime and a B-level prospect. That'd be an acceptable return given the circumstances of the Full No-Trade clause which takes all of Chicago's leverage. 

I can't remember a situation like this ever occurring in any sport. That quote kind of stunned me. Very forthcoming from Kane about the Rangers. If he was leaning more towards staying then you'd think his response would be more muted. Maybe this pushes him towards staying. Maybe it accelerates the process because he doesn't want to get upstreamed again when Dallas comes calling. 

I still think Dallas would be the best landing spot for Kane. They have basically everything you could ever want in a contending team. They've got star power up front with Robertson. They've got a guy who could win a Norris someday with Heiskanen. They've got a GREAT young goaltender in Jake Oettinger. They have veterans who have been through the wars with Seguin, Pavelski, Benn, and Suter. They're like one or two pieces away from winning the West in my opinion. One of those pieces could be Kaner magic when you need a big play in a tight game. The West has, at this moment, an easier path to the Cup too. 

All in all it's going to be a rough couple of weeks emotionally. I don't want him to leave, obviously. I want him to retire as a Blackhawk. I want him to be feeding pucks to Bedard, Nazar, and Reichel. I want another playoff push with Kane in Chicago.