Chicago Blackhawks: It is time to consider trading Patrick Kaneon January 21, 2021 at 2:54 pm

With a decorated resume like that, he is naturally a fan favorite. He should be because of the accomplishments but also because of the way he plays. He is as fun to watch play hockey as any player ever. He uses great hands, vision, and hockey sense to make incredible plays in the offensive zone. His transition game is second to none and most of the points (goals or assists) are of the “spectacular” variety.

Because he has all of these things attached to his hockey name, trading him wouldn’t go over well with the fanbase. However, it needs to be done at this point. He has three years (including this season that they are currently in) left on his contract at 10.5 million. A contending team getting a player like Kane for 2.5 seasons is very valuable. He has a hefty cap hit but the Hawks might get even more in return if they retained some salary.

They really don’t have cap trouble like they once did and it doesn’t even really matter right now anyway. They need to rebuild this thing from the ground up and nothing would kick start that better than by trading Kane. The return he would bring the Hawks is second to none. We could be talking top prospects, high draft picks, or a combination of both.

There is no rumor or anything like that but it is clear to me that trading him is the best course of action for the future of this franchise. It is also fair to him to give him a chance to win again while he is still an elite player. He has a lot of good hockey left in him so they should trade him while his value is at his highest.

He is being wasted away on this team now. He has played very well so far and other teams will take full note of that. With each passing year, his value goes down a little bit and makes it harder to get as big of a haul as possible. If they are ever going to do it, they need to do it before the return is insignificant. It can be a big difference for their rebuild.