Could the Colorado Avalanche Trade for Patrick Kane?

  

For all of you die-hard Blackhawks fans, it may take a lot for you to get through this article.  Not just because of the name mentioned in the title, but because of the symbolism behind it.  This isn’t in any way an attack on the organization or anything against Patrick Kane.  What this article represents is a choice, or better yet, something fans have been asking for; a direction.

The past four years have been difficult for a fan base that has come to expect so much in the last decade.  The Chicago Blackhawks took the sport by storm and created a frenzy in the city of Chicago.  We all know about the championships, the parades, and the rings.  But just like that, those moments seem so far away.  Two first round exists, missing the playoffs, and now the possibility of missing the playoffs again is imminent.

The Blackhawks have tried everything to keep this train moving, but nothing has worked.  They have tried bringing in new players and coaches, and have parted ways with people that were the heart and soul of the team.  What’s left is what the front office talked about for years, the core and nothing more.

The Chicago Blackhawks franchise has an opportunity right now to recreate what they had in 2008.  They had a young, energetic team who was fun to watch and on the verge of NHL history.  But on the tail end of a dynasty, do the Hawks have the guts to announce a true rebuild, starting with trading Patrick Kane?

Kane is 30 years old and is on pace to score over 100 points this season.  With no signs of slowing down and a clean bill of health, Kane is a valuable asset to every NHL team in the league.  The question is if any of those teams could put together a package large enough to persuade Chicago to deal their franchise player.

Here’s something that could work.

Colorado Avalanche

The first thing you’re probably thinking is “why would the Blackhawks trade Kane in the division?”  The answer is that Colorado could offer the best package.  The Avs currently have Ottawa’s first round pick that is unprotected.  Ottawa is one of the worst teams in the league so there is a chance they could be in the running for a lottery pick at the end of the season.  They also have a premier defensive prospect in Cale Makar, the 4th overall pick in the 2017 Draft.

To Avalanche fans, a trade involving the Ottawa pick and Makar may seem like a lot, but they would be getting a top 5 player in return.  The Pepsi Center would be sold out every night to watch Patrick Kane in the mile high city for the next four years.  But are the Avs ready to contend for a cup?  With Nathan MacKinnon cost-controlled at six million the next four years and a blossoming Mikko Rantanen, Kane would catapult the Avs past the first round of the playoffs.  Will losing out on a generational talent like Hughes and a future top defenseman like Makar hurt?  Absolutely.  But at what point do you stop building and simply go for it?

Here’s what I propose could be a deal that wows the Blackhawks:

Colorado receives:

Patrick Kane, Erik Gustafsson, & 2019 4th

Chicago receives:  OTT 2019 1st (only #1 or #2), Cale Makar, & Tyson Barrie

Now, the only way Chicago moves Kane is if they get elite, blue chip prospects back.  The deal starts with the Ottawa pick and the Hawks need to know that they have landed either Jack Hughes or Kappo Kakko.  The addition of Cale Makar further bolsters the Hawks blue line, giving them the ability to deal one of their top defensive prospects for a top forward.  Taking on Tyson Barrie for one year helps make the money work in exchange for Erik Gustafsson who could be just as effective on the powerplay and just as effective on defense…

Is it an overpay for Colorado?  Probably, but doesn’t it have to be?  It’s not often that you have the opportunity to trade for the best American born hockey player who is a lock for the Hall of Fame with three cups under his belt at 30 years old.

And for the Blackhawks, you hopefully get the next Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith.  You have players like Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome to build around too.  By the time some of these top prospects are ready, they will be in their mid-twenties ready to win.  Sure it will be a hard couple of years, but Chicago fans have seen this kind of rebuild work.  The Bears just made a huge trade for a franchise player and it has turned their franchise around.  The Cubs won a world series by building their team from the ground up.  The White Sox are on their way to trying the same thing.

And if you trade Patrick Kane, you might as well sell off Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, and Brandon Saad.  If Chicago can accumulate top draft picks and prospects, they will have one of the best farm systems in the league almost overnight.  They will continue to be bad for a couple more seasons and pick in the top 5 or top 10.  Those players will be developed by Jeremy Colliton, a very young coach with a knack of getting the most out of young players.

Many of you will believe that the Hawks will never go through with trading their star player which may be true.  It’s hard to imagine the United Center full of Kane jerseys with #88 playing 1,000 miles away for another team.  It’s also difficult to imagine the team that stuck with Kane through difficult times part with the star that has given them so much.  But where are the Blackhawks really going?  Can they squeeze one more Stanley Cup out of this core?  With every year that passes, it gets harder and harder to say yes.

It just feels like one of those corny moments where if you love something, you should set it free.  Let’s let Patrick Kane ride off into the sunset and watch him thrive in the playoffs where he deserves to be, not playing golf.  Let’s go to sleep at night knowing that in two years, we’ll have Jack Hughes playing first line center.  These difficult decisions differentiate the franchises that sustain success and the ones that are a flash in the pan.  And I’m pretty sure Chicago doesn’t want to wait another 50 years to hoist Lord Stanley’s cup again.

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Center Ice Forums Could the Colorado Avalanche Trade for Patrick Kane?

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)
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  • #11491
    Aaron Goldschmidt
    Participant

    For all of you die-hard Blackhawks fans, it may take a lot for you to get through this article.  Not just because of the name mentioned in the title,
    [To continue reading full article, click here: Could the Colorado Avalanche Trade for Patrick Kane?]

    #11497
    Dave
    Participant

    Based on his performance this year if there is any one core player the Hawks can squeeze another Cup out of in the next 4-5 years it’s Kane.

    #11498
    Enzo
    Participant

    Sorry not sorry Aaron, but Hughes/Kappo/Makar  have not played a single game in the NHL and could end up being a Kyle Beach (and the list goes on) level BUST in the Show.

     

    I would love to hear a realistic trade offer for Patrick Kane that makes the Blackhawks a better team now or in the future, and this not it.  Kane is the 2nd best RW in the NHL today behind Kucherov, with no signs of slowing down as he is having a Career-Best scoring pace on the league’s worst team.

    Maybe you get one top 6 forward PROSPECT, 3rd line forward, and a mid-late first round pick. You lose your offensive catalyst, #1 line driving PPG goal creator (scoring + playmaking) for some above average middle 6 guys and a low probability lottery ticket.

    IMO, nobody is giving you a #1 overall draft pick, top pair dman, and/or true top 20 NHL forward for 30yr old Kane at $10.5mil. The on-ice hit would be huge, but the marketing/fan base reaction would be catastrophic. Casual fans…goodbye. New fans from the 2010-2015 run….good luck keeping them. season ticket holders….we’ve already seen that trend and as NBC says every time the Hawks play, “Patrick Kane alone is worth the price of admission.”

    Patrick Kane will retire a Blackhawk, BOOK IT!

    #11499
    BMWChiFan
    Participant

    I guess you are advocating that the Hawks tank for several years, so you can avoid being called a “meatball” by your blog partners Gatekeeper and JJ.  As you say, while they’re at it the Hawks, in addition to Kane, should trade Toews and Keith as well.

    Why don’t we just trade everyone, including the Indianhead?  And with master trader/drafter Stanbo as GM, the Hawks will soon be back in Cup contention — in about 50 years!

    Gatekeeper and JJ are bigger downers than OxyContin.  Don’t fall for their negativism.

    #11500
    Jeff Osborn
    Keymaster

    [quote quote=11498] Maybe you get one top 6 forward PROSPECT, 3rd line forward, and a mid-late first round pick.

    Quote

    [/quote]

    So……..Kane gets you one more depth player than and expiring Ryan Hartman did.

    The reason this doesn’t happen is that the Blackhawks do not trade him within the division and face him 6 times a year for the next 4.  If he goes, it’ll be to the Eastern conference.

    #11501
    Jeff Osborn
    Keymaster

    [quote quote=11499] Gatekeeper and JJ are bigger downers than OxyContin. Don’t fall for their negativism.

    [/quote]

    You can easily not read……….no skin off our back.

    Keep your wishes, hopes and prayers alive sucking on that McDonough teet, though.  I’m sure you’ll claim they are a “playoff” team 🙄🙄🙄🙄

    #11504
    Chico Maki
    Participant

    *IF* the Hawks move Kane, it has to be for a much  better package than that.

    Patrick Kane is a generational talent.  Who makes everyone he plays with–better.

    Having said that, IF moving Kane makes the team better, for years to come, I can be talked into it.  And, not just marginally “better”.  I mean Cup contenders.

    Kakko is 17 years old.  Sure, he’s great, playing against kids.  Do I wanna bank on him being great in the NHL?  Do I wanna bet Kane?  No.   Same with jack Hughes.

    The best case scenario would be for the Blackhawks to get a REAL General Manager and maneuver into one of the top two draft slots–without trading Kane.

    Considering the current team is pretty damn bad, they’re halfway there.  Now, just find a GM.

    #11505
    fattybeef
    Participant

    Kane would be Ottawas first, 2020 first 2021 second that becomes a first if Kane wins another playoff mvp award. Their best prospect. And one roster player that is replacement level.

    Chicago can send some junk the other way.

    The scenario above is a little thin. The AVs are poor on the blue line and need depth (like everyone else) more than another star.

    Also if they can get hughes while theyre still competing why would they make that trade? I think it makes little sense for either team.

    If they remove Keith and AA and Kooga at the TDL you have one competent defender in Murphy, maybe two if you count Young Henry and Kamf and Johnson or JC’s guy as the bottom six centers. Start Ward at least half the games, finish with under 75 points and they will get a top 3 pick. Shoot id move Gus too which will F up the power play and someone is probably dumb enough to give up a first or good prospect for them.

    They’ll get futures and a high shot at a top pick if they cut some fat.

    #11509
    Under Qs moustache
    Participant

    I’m pretty sure that moving players with NMC/NTC clauses was one of the reasons for firing Q. Their loyalty to him after winning 3 cups is now out of the way, so a deal moving Kane or any of the core becomes a greater possibility.

    Crow having a 2nd concussion ruined a possible trade. Kane and Toews are hooked up big to Chicagoland Chevrolet advertising, how the Hawks are effected by moving either is something to factor.

    Keith has long been rumored to be TDL trade bait, Gus has been mentioned before, and Seabs is untrade-able even with the Hawks holding some money. Saad goes in the expansion draft.

    So Kane is a logical 1st casualty, although the package mentioned is way too high for Colorado. They need a defenseman, not Gus. He makes the money work, but Murphy is a better choice for them.

    Buffalo might be a better trade partner, as Kane is more likely to agree to a move there or to New York. Plus he’s out of the conference, win-win.

    Most Hawk fans cannot place a correct value on #88, but GM’s know quite well what he brings and what he’s worth to them. The tough question is, will they give up enough to make it happen? Nobody is going to help the Hawks now or down the road, but Kane will NEVER be worth more than he is right now. If Gretzky can get traded so can Kane, so your idea of moving him from Chicago has merit. Well written food for thought A-Aron!

    #11510
    oldrafterguy
    Participant

    The only problem with this scenario, is you assume Chicago has the leadership to make happen.  We don’t.

    As long as McDontknow and Stanblow are running the show, we’ll be a bottom 6 team.   Who signed all those NMC contracts?  Who in this train wreck has hockey experience?  Barry Smith?  Jeremy Coliton, with less than what, 3 years coaching in Europe and Rockford?   Sheldon Brookbank?  REALY??

    The only hope is that the empty seats, advertisers leaving, and loss of license revenue (hey, how those Koekkeok sweaters selling this morning….) wakes up Rocky to start the fire sale in the front office.

     

     

    #11514
    fattybeef
    Participant

    Ok so I see Kane as aging like Martin St Louis who was a PPG player until he was 37 and dumped 52 points as a 39 year old.

    The dude is going to have a high value through his current contract and will be still primed and pumped in 3 years.

    Unless you flip him for a top 2 pick + now (which may or may not give you a comparable talent), I think hes a guy you still build your team around.

    I think Keith is the guy you move and you flip some combination of Mitchell or Boqvist or Young Henri + Sikura or Entwhistle or Saad for a legit defender. Carolina has 3 and I think that can work for both teams.

    Need a top 2 pick this year on a cant miss talent though.

    #11517
    Jim
    Participant

    You’re out of your mind if you think the Avs would even consider this trade. Why would they give up 2 cost controlled top 5 picks for a 30 year old winger who carries a cap hit of $10.5M through 2023? Even if the Avs didn’t have depth issues, they’d be idiots to consider a trade like this.

    #11518
    Under Qs moustache
    Participant

    [quote quote=11510]The only problem with this scenario, is you assume Chicago has the leadership to make happen. We don’t. As long as McDontknow and Stanblow are running the show, we’ll be a bottom 6 team. Who signed all those NMC contracts? Who in this train wreck has hockey experience? Barry Smith? Jeremy Coliton, with less than what, 3 years coaching in Europe and Rockford? Sheldon Brookbank? REALY?? The only hope is that the empty seats, advertisers leaving, and loss of license revenue (hey, how those Koekkeok sweaters selling this morning….) wakes up Rocky to start the fire sale in the front office.

    [/quote]I’ll take 2 of the Koekkeok jerseys, 1 XL and 1 2XL, great line!

    #11604
    jr_howie
    Participant

    [quote quote=11517]You’re out of your mind if you think the Avs would even consider this trade. Why would they give up 2 cost controlled top 5 picks for a 30 year old winger who carries a cap hit of $10.5M through 2023? Even if the Avs didn’t have depth issues, they’d be idiots to consider a trade like this.

    [/quote]

    Agreed. It’s not would the HAWKS do this trade? The Avs would never consider this trade.

    Clever article thou. Always fun to ponder the what ifs.

     

    #11506
    BMWChiFan
    Participant

    [quote quote=11501]

    Gatekeeper and JJ are bigger downers than OxyContin. Don’t fall for their negativism.

    You can easily not read……….no skin off our back. Keep your wishes, hopes and prayers alive sucking on that McDonough teet, though. I’m sure you’ll claim they are a “playoff” team 🙄🙄🙄🙄

    [/quote]No skin off your back?  That’s right, you have so many other posters to The-Rink — at least 4 or 5.

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