What do you think of this Patrick Kane to the Oilers trade proposal from Daily Faceoff?
By Cam Lewis
1 year agoLet’s take a moment away from the Erik Karlsson discussion and talk about the possibility of the Edmonton Oilers adding a game-changing winger to the mix ahead of the March 3 trade deadline.
Over at Daily Faceoff, Frank Seravalli put together a trade deadline matchmaker list that featured his thoughts on what teams could pay to acquire players who they believe could push them over the top come playoff time. He suggested Timo Meier to the Carolina Hurricanes, Vladislav Gavrikov to the Boston Bruins, Ryan O’Reilly to the Dallas Stars, and this deal that would send Patrick Kane to the Oilers…
To Edmonton: Patrick KaneTo Chicago: Xavier Bourgault, Jesse Puljujarvi, 2023 2nd Round Pick, 2025 5th Round Pick (to 3rd party broker)Imagine, for one second, the creativity and pure skill on display in Oil Country. Plug ‘Showtime’ onto the right side of either Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl, wind him up and watch him go. Many believe Edmonton is in the market for a defender on the back end. But if there is one area of need up front for the uber-talented Oilers, it is on the right wing. And Kane would allow them to push the envelope in the playoffs and try to blow away the competition on the scoreboard. It would flip the traditional playoff build of heavy, hard hockey on its head. Why not? McDavid and Draisaitl almost singlehandedly won them two rounds last year.With New York out of the picture, Kane will be forced to consider new realities and destinations, and he can get the dirt from former teammate and Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith. When you begin to examine the possibility, it starts to make a whole lot of sense. There’s plenty of room for two Kanes in the Edmonton lineup.
Last week, the St. Louis Blues dealt Vladimir Tarasenko to the New York Rangers along with defenceman Niko Mikkola in exchange for Sammy Blais, a conditional first-round pick in the 2023 draft, and a fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft. Blais went back to St. Louis as a salary cap dump and the condition on the first-rounder is that the Blues get whichever pick is higher between New York’s own first-round pick and the first-round pick they acquired from the Dallas Stars back in September.
Following the trade, Kane expressed some disappointment that the Rangers had acquired a winger for their top-six, as New York was one of the destinations he was considering if he chose to accept a trade from Chicago…
Kane ultimately holds the cards in this scenario as his contract features a no-movement clause. But, as Seravalli mentioned, the Rangers being off the list as a potential destination means that Kane will have to broaden his horizons if he wants to join a contending team this spring.
The aforementioned Tarasenko trade offers a decent base for what a Kane trade to Edmonton would look like. The situations aren’t entirely similar, as Kane has a larger cap hit than Tarasenko, the Rangers had more cap space than the Oilers do, and they had two first-round picks, but it’s a good place to start nonetheless.
The deal that Seravalli suggested makes sense based on what the Rangers paid, but the thing that gives me pause is the addition of Xavier Bourgault. The Oilers are thin on the wings moving forward and having Bourgault available to step into a role sooner rather than later would be ideal. Moving the 2023 first-round pick rather than him might be Ken Holland’s preference if he believes that Kane still has enough left in the tank to contribute.
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