There have already been several teams interested in the signing of coveted NHL superstar Patrick Kane, however, two more teams have recently entered the mix.
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Chicago has been desperately trying to offload their massive contracts to make space for a rebuild, and Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews have been the two names being tossed around the most.
Kane was rumored to be going to teams such as the Maple Leafs, Sabres, Oilers and Rangers.
However, Mike Stephens of the Hockey News pointed out how two other teams could look to get into the Kane sweepstakes. Those teams being the Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche eyeing the Blackhawks legend.
As Stephens points out: the Red Wings are no longer rebuilding, and what makes them attractive to Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson is the Wings have have some available cap space with meaning little salary retention.
"Of all the clubs focused primarily on winning games next season, the Red Wings arguably have the most financial wiggle room, sitting with over $8 million in cap space to spend on any further upgrades of their choice. Kane would certainly fit that bill, requiring roughly $3 million to be moved out to make the money work."
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Stephens also mentioned the Colorado Avalanche who are looking to repeat as Stanley Cup champions this season. The Blackhawks will likely have to retain 50% of Kane's salary to make a deal with the Avalanche.
"Kane would push them right back to the top of the heap once again, allowing a player like Artturi Lehknonen to absolutely feast on bottom-six matchups and effectively lengthen the depth of their already deep roster", as Stephens writes.
Kane currently has a cap hit of $10.5M through next season. His initial contract was 8-years, $84M which was signed with the Blackhawks back in 2015-16.
At 33-years-old, Kane is still recording points at an all-star level and shows no signs of slowing down. Last season, he put up 92 points in 78 games, his third-highest total since entering the NHL 15 years ago.
What will Kane's next contract look like and where will he end up next season?
