Inside the Patrick Kane trade: How it went down and why the Blackhawks got so little in return
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By Mark Lazerus and Scott Powers
Feb 28, 2023
What is Patrick Kane worth in a trade?
That’s a tricky question. Are we talking about an open market of 31 teams? Is this the offseason, early in the season or at the trade deadline? Is Kane fully healthy? Is he just a rental or could he re-sign somewhere?
No doubt, Kane should be worth a decent haul, with the exact value varying based on those variables. Even with doubts cast on him due to his nagging hip injury this season, he showed he can still elevate his game to an elite level. In his last four games in a Blackhawks jersey, he scored seven goals and added three assists. He’s still that guy. He’s still worth a lot.
The Blackhawks sure thought so. They believed Kane should bring back a first-round draft pick and a top prospect if he were to waive his no-movement clause — at the very least.
So how did it come to this? How did Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson get just a conditional second-round pick in 2023 — which could become a 2024 or 2025 first-rounder only if the Rangers make it to the conference final in the ludicrously loaded Eastern Conference — and a 2023 fourth-rounder for arguably the greatest player in franchise history, one who’s less than a year removed from a 92-point season? And how was that actually better than most of the hockey world expected?
Well, trades are based on leverage. And the Blackhawks had none.
“It is what it is,” said a Western Conference executive, granted anonymity so he could speak freely about another team. “They got something, which is more than what they’re getting from (Jonathan) Toews’ expiring contract. You’ve got to make the best of what you’re given. He gave them one team to work with.”
The Blackhawks probably could have gotten the package they wanted if two things had occurred. One, Kane needed to give the Blackhawks at least a few weeks to negotiate with teams. Trade season started far earlier than usual this year, with Bo Horvat, one of the biggest names available, going to the Islanders way back on Jan. 30. Two, Kane needed to give the Blackhawks a few destinations to which he’d be willing to go.
The Blackhawks believed that both of those things could happen at the beginning of February. Based on what Kane and his agent, Pat Brisson, were saying, the Blackhawks remained optimistic.
But then time passed.
And passed.
And passed.
While Kane pondered his decision, other teams weren’t waiting. Big names kept coming off the board. Most notably, the New York Rangers acquired Vladimir Tarasenko for the sort of package — which included a first-round pick — the Blackhawks were hoping for. That was always Kane’s No. 1 destination. It was a market relatively close to his parents in Western New York, it would reunite him with former linemate Artemi Panarin (who helped him win the 2016 Hart Trophy as league MVP), and it would give him another shot at the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Kane’s surprisingly honest reaction to the Tarasenko trade, which seemed to rule out the Rangers as a potential destination for Kane, changed the dynamic. Kane said he was “not, like, the happiest” to hear about the trade, and flat-out admitted he was “intrigued” by the idea of playing for the Rangers. And Rangers GM Chris Drury surely saw that. There were other teams interested in Kane — such as Dallas, Carolina, Vegas and Edmonton — but it became clear that Kane only had eyes for New York. And the Rangers knew it.
Further destroying any leverage Davidson might have had, Kane’s disappointment was not accompanied by a decision. And so more time passed. And more players around the league were traded for first-rounders.
Not that anyone will ever say it publicly, but there was growing frustration within the Blackhawks organization over Kane’s dithering. Just as significantly, the sense around the league from other suitors was that Kane was just as frustrated, if not outright furious, that the Blackhawks were all but forcing him out the door by going scorched-earth on the roster in a blatant tank. Davidson traded away Alex DeBrincat and let Dylan Strome leave as a free agent over the summer. Those were Kane’s linemates and closest friends on the team, and Kane took it personally, making him less inclined to help the Blackhawks maximize his trade value. He wanted the Rangers. And he was determined to get the Rangers.
So as the deadline got closer, Kane wanted to see if the Rangers were still a possibility. They were indeed interested, but they weren’t going to give up much, as they did in the Tarasenko trade. Especially with no competition.
While Brisson and the Rangers were having conversations, the Blackhawks still weren’t sure what was going to happen. They were preparing for anything and everything. They knew time was running out to make the sort of deal they hoped for.
It wasn’t until Kane rang Davidson on Friday night that the organization knew for sure what Kane truly wanted: He would waive his no-movement clause to be traded to the Rangers. And only the Rangers.
“It did culminate in San Jose right before we moved on from that game,” Davidson said. “Yeah, a couple emotional conversations down in San Jose. That’s kind of where everything came to a head.”
Davidson went to work with Drury. Davidson set his price, but Drury offered less in return and wouldn’t budge much. Drury had the leverage and knew it. He knew the Rangers were the only team Kane would accept a trade to. He also knew the Blackhawks were going to do whatever they could to make that happen for Kane. From Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz to president of business operations Jaime Faulkner to Davidson, the Blackhawks had been publicly stating for some time that they were going to do right by Kane and Toews if they wanted to be traded.
That left Davidson with minimal bargaining power. He couldn’t walk away from the trade, even if he wanted to. It was an organizational mandate not to hold onto Kane against his wishes. Once Kane said aloud he wanted the trade, Davidson was going to follow through. That relationship — past, present and future — is too important to the organization.
So, Davidson fought for what he could. The fact that Davidson got the conditional second-round pick is probably a victory for the Blackhawks, considering Drury could have offered much less, and Davidson probably would have had to accept.
Ultimately, Davidson knows Kane is worth more than that.
Drury does, too.
But that was the offer, and the Blackhawks felt they had to take it — for Kane’s sake as much as their own. So, they did.
“If you look at it from the pure hockey standpoint and from an asset return standpoint, it probably doesn’t compute,” Davidson said. “But given the circumstances and the situation, we achieved what we wanted, and that was to put Patrick on a team that he wanted to go to. That’s the main goal here: hopefully get some assets here, which we feel we did, but mainly was repaying a player that’s done so much for the franchise.”
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