Expect to hear the name of Chicago Blackhawks star forward Patrick Kane more and more as the 2022-23 NHL season progresses into the 2023 NHL trade deadline next March. Seeing Kane play in a different uniform would take some time for hockey fans to get used to just as they had last season when long-time Philadelphia Flyers star Claude Giroux was shipped to the Florida Panthers at the trade deadline.
But the similarity between Patrick Kane and Giroux doesn't just end there. Like Giroux before he got traded to the Panthers, Kane has a full no-move clause. That Philadelphia still managed to move Giroux last season despite his full NMC status and his image as one of the most-liked players in the franchise's history can be viewed as part of a blueprint for a potential Patrick Kane trade.
“It’s very similar, yes,” Pat Brisson , Kane's agent, who also represents Giroux, said to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.“The respect that both players have for each organization. Claude will have his number in the rafters in Philly one day, I do believe, and obviously Patrick as well in Chicago. Both players are very respected on those teams. Claude at the beginning of last season wanted to see how things were going to go with the Flyers. We realized pretty soon, by November, that if he wanted a chance at trying to win a Cup last season, he would have to make a decision. And he picked Florida. The Panthers were one of the most attractive teams at the trade deadline.”
Patrick Kane is playing the last season of his massive $84 million extension deal with the Blackhawks he signed in 2014. Apart from Kane, the Blackhawks also have a decision to make on Patrick Toews, who shares the same $10.5 cap hit this season as Kane. Chicago is not expected to contend for the Stanley Cup this season and with both vets still looking to lift the Cup at least one more time, they can both pull off a Claude Giroux and play for a legitimate contender before the expiration of their current deals.
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