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Are the Boston Bruins Out Of Patrick Kane Sweepstakes?

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Boston Bruins

Are the Boston Bruins out on Patrick Kane?

It certainly feels like that as the most recent scuttlebutt from Hockey Night in Canada’s Elliotte Friedman has five suitors for the Chicago Blackhawks sniper’s services, and the Bruins aren’t among those teams he is interested in joining.

According to Friedman, the Kane derby has had five teams notably in the mix: the New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, Vegas Golden Knights and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Friedman indicated that the New York Rangers were Kane’s “first choice” as a landing spot, but the Blueshirts deal for St. Louis Blues sniper would seem to logically rule them out in every way from trading for another scoring winger like Kane.

Kane has a full no-movement clause and the Blackhawks obviously feel loyalty to deal him wherever it is that he wants to go for another run at a Cup, but this doesn’t feel like a repeat situation for the Bruins like two years ago when Taylor Hall engineered his trade from Buffalo to the Black and Gold by wielding his no-move clause rights to make it happen.

The $10.5 million cap hit for Kane was always going to make it a bit of a far-fetched fantasy for the Boston Bruins to even entertain bringing him in, but it also feels more and more like the B’s don’t want to make any roster-shattering moves with a team that’s had great chemistry and success all season. Craig Smith would be the most likely Bruins forward in danger of being replaced on a B’s playoff roster with four goals and 10 points in 40 games, but even he scored in Thursday night’s 5-0 Bruins win over the Predators.

Once Jake DeBrusk returns from injury, it’s debatable where another winger would even fit into Boston’s forward plan aside from being good depth. Still, it’s Patrick Kane.

“If Patrick Kane is interested in you,” a general manager told Friedman, “you have to think about it.”

Certainly, the Boston Bruins could use another top-9 forward with dynamic scoring ability and Kane would seem like the right move for a team that’s “all in” to win for Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci this season. But there’s also got to be concern to hear a couple of Boston Bruins’ foes in the East, the Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs, as possible landing spots for a future Hall of Famer that’s got tons of playoff and Stanley Cup-winning experience.

That being said, Kane is also a 34-year-old player with suspected hip issues that’s got just nine goals and 35 points in 50 games for the Blackhawks this season with a minus-29 mark that’s the second-worst on Chicago’s entire team. Clearly, he could be energized by exiting a lost Hawks season for a chance at winning another Stanley Cup, but there’s also a big time gamble involved with any team that’s giving up assets and clearing cap space to bring in Kane for a playoff run.

So right now, the NHL betting odds on the Bruins acquiring Kane are pretty low, but things can always change.

 

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