Make no mistake about it: The Chicago Blackhawks are entering the early stages of a rebuild. Not a retool, which is a distinction that has entered the NHL general manager vernacular over the past few seasons. No. This will be a full-on restructuring of the roster.
Freshly minted GM Kyle Davidson was upfront about that during his introductory presser earlier in March:
"We're going to look at more of a rebuild here. There are some things that we really need to fix that are going to take time. … We really need to do this the right way and we're going to stick to the plan and take our time with it and make sure that when we get to where we want to go, then it was the result of a plan that was stuck to and not deviated from."
The question that immediately comes to mind is difficult to answer: Where does a veteran like Patrick Kane fit into the equation? He wants to retire a Blackhawk, saying that it would be "a privilege and an honor," according to Tracey Myers of NHL.com.
The NHL is a business, though. One with little, if any, room for sentimentality. And the reality is that trading Kane would speed up Chicago's rebuild significantly. He has a no-movement clause, so his fate is in his own hands.
Here we're going to look at a handful of possible fits for the 33-year-old. All five teams are "dream" destinations in one shape or form, either as a place to win the Cup or with a strong personal connection to Kane himself. Keep in mind that this is mostly speculation and that we'll source rumors where they exist.
Do you think Davidson will offload Kane sometime within the next few months? Where do you think he could land? Sound off in the comments and let us know.
Colorado Avalanche
The idea of Kane joining one of the league's most dominant offenses is, in a word, terrifying. Yet it's something that the Colorado Avalanche have at least kicked tires on, according to The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta on NHL Network.
On the surface, it appears unlikely that Colorado would be able to squeeze Kane on to their roster. He has a monster cap hit of $10.5 million after all.
The Avalanche will have around $3.9 million in cap space to work with at the March 21 trade deadline, according to CapFriendly. The team would need some cap help to make it happen, but it could feasibly add the right wing without giving up much of the NHL roster. Where Kane would fit is another question.
The Avalanche's top line is more or less set in stone. Only 25 offensive trios have spent 250 minutes or more together this season, according to MoneyPuck.com, and the unit of Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen is one of them. Not only that, but they also have the eighth-best expected goals for percentage in that group.
That doesn't exactly scream "break us up."