After several days of speculation, star winger Patrick Kane has officially become a member of the Rangers.
The New York club got the 34-year-old American from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Andy Welinski, a conditional 2023 second-round pick and a 2025 fourth-round pick on Tuesday. The Rangers also landed minor league defenseman Cooper Zech.
According to various media outlets, the 2023 second-round pick will become a first-round pick if Rangers at least reach the Eastern final. However, that first-round pick would transfer to 2024 or 2025.
The Arizona Coyotes participated in the trade, serving to withhold 25% of the remaining salary from Kane’s contract, which expires this summer. They received a 2025 third-round pick from the Rangers and also gave defenseman Vili Saarijarvi to the Blackhawks.
Kane is a three-time Stanley Cup champion and is known for his offensive creativity. Even in a difficult year, he has 16 goals and 29 assists in 54 games this season.
During his 16 years with the Blackhawks, Kane established himself as one of the best American-born hockey players to play in the NHL.
Among his fellow Americans, Kane ranks seventh in goals (446), fourth in assists (779) and fourth in points (1,225).
“This decision puts me in the best position to win the Stanley Cup again,” said Kane, who agreed to set aside his no-trade clause to move to the Rangers. I look forward to this new step in my career. »
In New York, Kane will reunite with Artemi Panarin, a former Blackhawks teammate. From 2015 to 2017, Kane and Panarin formed one of the most prolific offensive duos in the NHL.
With Panarin on his opposite wing in 2015-16, Kane recorded 46 goals and 60 assists en route to the Hart Trophy as NHL Most Valuable Player.
They hope to have the opportunity to help the Rangers win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1994.
“I think Patrick realized we were the right destination for him and he’s the right player for us,” Rangers general manager Chris Drury said. We were happy that he wanted to be traded and that he wanted to join Rangers. »
Captain Jonathan Toews and Kane were the two remaining centerpieces of the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup victories in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
The team hasn’t won a playoff since winning in 2015 and has only appeared in the playoffs three times.
General manager Kyle Davidson began a rebuild of the team by trading several young players over the summer for draft picks.
Toews will remain with the Blackhawks until the end of the season. He was recently revealed to be battling symptoms of long-lasting COVID.
Active Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs made three trades, including one that landed them a 2023 first-round pick and Washington Capitals defenseman Erik Gustafsson for defenseman Rasmus Sandin.
Gustafsson, 30, has 38 points in 61 games with the Capitals this year.
As for Sandin, 22, he had four goals and 20 points in 52 games in 2022-23.
The pick the Maple Leafs got is the one the Capitals acquired in the trade that saw the Boston Bruins secure the services of defenseman Dmitry Orlov and forward Garnet Hathaway last week.
The Maple Leafs also traded forward Pierre Engvall to the New York Islanders for a 2024 third-round pick, and repatriated defenseman Luke Schenn from the Vancouver Canucks for another third-round pick. , this one in 2023.
For Schenn, 33, it’s a homecoming. Claimed fifth overall by the Maple Leafs in the 2008 draft, Schenn played four seasons with the Toronto squad, between 2008 and 2012.
The Capitals also traded left-winger Marcus Johansson to the Minnesota Wild for a 2024 third-round pick.
Johansson, 32, joins the Wild having had 28 points, including 13 on the power play, in 60 games with the Capitals this season.
The Wild also acquired forward Gustav Nyquist from the Columbus Blue Jackets for a 2023 fifth-round pick.
One more Finn, one more Swede
The Edmonton Oilers also made two trades during the day, including getting Swedish defenseman Mattias Ekholm from the Nashville Predators, in addition to shipping Finnish forward Jesse Puljujarvi to the Carolina Hurricanes.
In return for Ekholm, the Oilers sacrificed defenseman Tyson Barrie, prospect Reid Schaefer, a 2023 first-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick.
The Oilers also got a 2024 sixth-round pick from the Predators in the trade.
The Predators will continue to pay 4% ($250,000) of Ekholm’s salary until his contract expires after the 2025-26 season.
Ekholm, 32, is an effective defender in his territory who has also had a few productive offensive campaigns. He had 62 goals and 268 points in 719 NHL games, all with the Predators.
Barrie is an offensive defenseman who joined the Oilers in 2020. He had 43 points this season and has 478 points in 744 NHL games with the Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs and Oilers .
Earlier in the day, the Oilers traded Puljujarvi to the Hurricanes for 22-year-old prospect Patrik Puistola, also from Finland, who has never played in the NHL.
Puljujarvi, 24, has four goals and nine assists in 58 games this season with the Oilers.
The six-foot-four, 201-pound player never lived up to the Oilers’ expectations after they selected him fourth overall in the 2016 NHL Draft. He finished his time in Alberta with 51 goals and 61 assists in 317 regular season games.