Conflicting reports surface involving Patrick Kane; could a Central Division rival be the early favourite?

According to The Fourth Period, the Hawks are engaged in trade talks with multiple teams regarding the 3-time cup winner. Coming off of a 92 point season and with only 1-year left on his current contract, the Hawks would be wise to deal Kane now. That is because the return for Kane before the season as opposed to a deadline day trade will be far better. At $10.5M though, the Hawks will likely have to retain some of Kane's cap hit. The more they retain, the greater the return will be.

The Fourth Period has reported that one team that is heavily involved in those trade talks is the Dallas Stars. The Stars still have goaltender Jake Ottinger and forward Jason Robertson to re-sign, which will likely eat up most of their $11.4M in cap space they currently have. The Stars would likely have to part with a first round pick, a prospect and young roster player as a start. If the Hawks are retaining half of Kane's $10.5M salary, the return will likely be more than three pieces.

A short time later, The Athletic's Mark Lazerus released a counterclaim, stating that his source has stated that there are nothing to the Kane rumours.

I have no dog in this fight, but I have a really hard time believing that a team who has just decimated its young core wouldn't at least be talking to teams, even on an informal basis, about one or both of its superstar pending UFAs. Perhaps hypothetical talks have begun with teams to line up potential suitors in the event that Kane does decide to request a trade. Better to have a potential landing spot lined up before the request comes in than to try to pursue what will likely be a complicated deal (due to Kane's cap hit and any possible retention) on the fly.