Pair of Patrick Kane clips from last night's loss to Leafs raising some concerns over whether he's the right piece for Toronto
Patrick Kane remains one of this year's top deadline targets, but with so much control in his own hands, it will really be up to him whether or not he moves on from the Hawks or remains in Chicago for the remainder of the year.
Last night, the Hawks were in Toronto to take on the Leafs in the team's 2nd last meeting with the Buds before the upcoming March 3rd trade deadline, giving the Leafs an up-close look at where Kane's game is currently at. Unfortunately for Kane, Hawks GM Kyle Davidson, Leafs GM Kyle Dubas and even for the fans in general, Kane's performance lacked anything of substance and did not serve anyone well in their attempts to evaluate what he might be able to add in terms of the actual on-ice impact to an interested team in two weeks time.
Kane's Blackhawks were dummied up and down the ice by the Leafs last night, dropping a 5-2 decision in Toronto and the 33-year-old himself was uncharacteristically unexciting.
There are rumours that Kane is dealing with a significant injury and attempting to play through the pain. The rumoured injury is to his hip and could end up resulting in offseason surgery. Looking at the videos below, you can see Kane both trying to avoid contact and also failing to really put any sort of concerted effort in defensively.
Watching Kane just coast is not really what we've become accustomed to seeing over the years, leading right up to last season, when he put up 92 points as a 32-year-old. That type of production from someone in their 30's is typically not very common - but then again, Kane being an elite player, it's also not surprising that he was one of those guys who hasn't forgotten how to play the game.
The real issues here are: Where does Kane want to go? What will it cost the acquiring team? And how significant is his rumoured injury? If Kane doesn't want to come to Toronto, his full NMC will prevent that from happening. If Kane would consider a move to Toronto, as was rumoured this week, and if the cost to acquire him is unreasonable then perhaps the Leafs are the ones who simply decide to walk away. And if Kane's hip injury will prevent him from passing a pre-trade physical, then perhaps the Leafs retain their best assets to use them in a deal for a player who has more to offer the team in their upcoming playoff run.
| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 16 | 229 ANSWERS Pair of Patrick Kane clips from last night's loss to Leafs raising some concerns over whether he's the right piece for Toronto Is Patrick Kane the wrong target for the Leafs? | ||
| No, he's the guy | 26 | 11.4 % |
| Yes, he doesn't look right this year | 158 | 69 % |
| Not sure | 45 | 19.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
