This could be something, or it could be nothing at all, but there's a rumour circulating that the Leafs have reached out to the Chicago Blackhawks and had "brief discussions" about superstar winger and 3-time Stanley Cup Champion Patrick Kane.
Thus far, no verified insiders have reported the same, so we should not be eager to jump to the conclusion that it's true, but that doesn't automatically mean that it's false either. If Kane is available - and it's very possible that he is - I'd imagine that 31 GMs will have had at least brief discussions with Hawks GM Kyle Davidson, which would include the likes of Leafs GM Kyle Dubas.
The problem that the Leafs have at the moment is that they're currently $1.5M over the cap and have yet to sign restricted free agent defenseman Rasmus Sandin. Kane's $10.5M salary (even at 50% retained) is a massive chunk of change for the Leafs to absorb, and given how hard it has been for GMs to move money this summer, I can't imagine other GMs are going to line up to do the Leafs any favours.
Theoretically, it is possible for the Leafs to fit Kane into the picture at $5.25M this season. They'd simply have to move Alexander Kerfoot and Justin Holl, which would free up a combined $5.5M. Conversely, they could move Jake Muzzin's $5.625M cap hit (though Muzzin would have to waive his NTC).
The problem I have with this rumour is that it still doesn't free up any space to get Sandin's extension done. So, unless Sandin is the main piece going back in a deal for Kane, it may not make a whole lot of sense.
We'll continue working behind the scenes to try to verify this one, but for now, we can file the Patrick Kane rumour under "unlikely".
