Rangers 2023 trade deadline buzz: NY, Patrick Kane reportedly have mutual interest, momentum in potential deal
Here is the latest Rangers buzz ahead of the 2023 NHL trade deadline, which is on March 3…
Feb. 25, 1:45 p.m.
The Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane have mutual interest and momentum in getting a deal done, according to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan.
Kaplan reports that as long as the Rangers clear cap space and find a “third party broker,” then the “expectation is it gets done.”
Kaplan adds that because of Kane’s no movement clause (NMC), which means he can’t be waived, traded, or assigned to the minors without approval, then the Blackhawks will take “whatever return Rangers willing to give.”
Larry Brooks of The New York Post reported on Feb. 23 that the Rangers could waive Vitali Kravtsov to clear about $2 million in cap space. Additionally, the Rangers would need the Blackhawks to retain half of Kane’s cap hit and for another team to get involved in order for the money to work.
Kane is in the final year of his deal with Chicago and is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
Feb. 23, 8:55 a.m.
The Rangers’ interest in trading for Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane “has not waned in the slightest” since New York traded for Vladimir Tarasenko, reports Larry Brooks of The New York Post.
Per Brooks, the Rangers “have signaled they will try to make it work” if Kane is willing to waive his no-trade clause for the Rangers — and recent reporting and Kane’s own words suggest he has the Blueshirts on his wish list.
Emily Kaplan of ESPN reported on Wednesday that before the Rangers traded for Tarasenko, Kane had New York as his “preferred destination.” Kaplan added that it was her belief that Kane had “asked to explore whether going to the Rangers is still an option.”
Kane was less than thrilled shortly after the Rangers acquired Tarasenko, telling reporters he was interested in going to New York and “it is what it is.”
While the Rangers’ deal for Tarasenko seemingly made acquiring Kane highly unlikely, there is a chance they can make it work.
It’s complicated, as Brooks explained here, but not impossible.
As Brooks writes, if the Rangers waive Vitali Kravtsov (who isn’t drawing interest on the trade market), they can clear roughly $2 million in cap space. In addition to waiving Kravtsov, the Rangers would also need the Blackhawks to retain half of Kane’s cap hit and for another team to get involved in order for the money to work.
Kane is in the last year of his contract and basically playing out the string with Chicago, one of the worst teams in the NHL this season.
He is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
Feb. 16, 6:50 p.m.
In a trade for youngster Vitali Kravtsov, Rangers general manager Chris Drury is said to be looking for “as high a draft pick as possible,” according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
NHL Network’s Kevin Weekes also mentioned earlier this week to keep an eye on a third-round pick or a prospect in any deal for the winger.
Kravtsov, who head coach Gerard Gallant has been used sporadically throughout this season, recently requested a trade away from the Blueshirts.
The 23-year-old has just three goals and three assists in 28 games this season and 10 points in 48 career games. Kravtsov may be better off on a rebuilding team where he can play the top-nine minutes he needs to continue his development.
We’ll see soon enough if Drury decides to just take what he can get and moves him ahead of the March 3 trade deadline.
Feb. 13, 8:49 a.m.
Forward Vitali Kravtsov has requested a trade, per multiple reports.
Kravtsov, who was upset last season when he didn’t make New York’s initial roster — and whose Rangers future appeared to be in doubt for most of the 2021-22 season — has been used sporadically in 2022-23.
After New York dealt for Vladimir Tarasenko, Kravtsov was given what amounted to a one-game audition on the second line before being benched again, with head coach Gerard Gallant saying Kravtsov didn’t do enough.
The 23-year-old has three goals and three assists in 28 games this season.
Despite Kravtsov’s request, Blueshirts president and GM Chris Drury is under no obligation to deal him ahead of the March 3 deadline.
Feb. 10, 10:52 a.m.
After making a splash by acquiring winger Vladimir Tarasenko along with defenseman Niko Mikkola on Thursday, Rangers president and GM Chris Drury is still looking to add more.
After getting Tarasenko (who will join Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad on the Rangers’ top line) and Mikkola (who will work with Braden Schneider as part of the third defensive pairing), any moves the Rangers make at this point might be around the margins.
But when asked after the Tarasenko/Mikkola deal if the focus would be on improving the fourth line, Drury wouldn’t limit it to that.
“We’re certainly still looking at ways to improve the group,” Drury said, via Mollie Walker of The New York Post. “. … I can see your point about that area and it’ll be one we look at for sure, as well as a few others and see what we can do between now and the deadline.”
The Rangers’ fourth line at practice on Friday featured Jimmy Vesey, Barclay Goodrow, and Julian Gauthier.
Vitali Kravtsov, who has been out of the lineup recently, was skating on the second line with Chris Kreider and Vincent Trocheck.
The kid line was unchanged, with the red-hot Filip Chytil centering Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko.
Feb 8, 6 p.m.
St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko would “be very welcoming” to a trade to the New York Rangers, according to The Athletic‘s Jeremy Rutherford and Arthur Staple. Sources familiar with Tarasenko have not publicly expressed his trade destinations.
The forward has 10 goals in 38 games with the Blues this season and won a Stanley Cup with St. Louis in 2019.
Feb. 8, 8:47 a.m.
There should be clarity “relatively soon” on whether Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane, who has a full no-trade clause, is willing to move, reports Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.
Per The Athletic, Kane’s agent said interested teams “would be given at least seven to 10 days advance word” if the forward is open to a trade.
The Rangers have expressed interest in trading for Kane.
In addition to the Rangers, the Dallas Stars are among the teams also interested in Kane.
Kane said Monday that he was undecided about his future, via Blackhawks reporter Mario Tirabassi. The 34-year-old said that his agent had come to him regarding some teams that were interested in trading for him.
The forward is in the last year of his contract and basically playing out the string with Chicago. The Blackhawks have 35 points and are 23 points out of a playoff spot entering play on Monday.
LeBrun reported in January that the Rangers “have always made the most sense” for Kane, suggesting at the time that the Blueshirts should dangle one of their first-round picks in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Feb 5, 9:30 a.m.
The Rangers have been linked to both Patrick Kane and Timo Meier ahead of the March 3 deadline, and while Kane is certainly on the team’s radar, he may not be their primary target.
Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports that while Kane “makes too much sense” for the Blueshirts, he believes Meier is the team’s No. 1 target.
Meier, 26, has been close a point-per-game player of the last two seasons with San Jose, recording 124 points in 128 games since the start of the 2021-22 season.
Feb. 2, 10:35 a.m.
Rangers forward Artemi Panarin “would love” to team up with his former teammate and trade candidate Patrick Kane, according to Mollie Walker of the New York Post.
Speaking with Forever Blueshirts, Walker said she has “no doubt” that the Rangers are interested in Kane, who was teammates with Panarin in Chicago from 2015 to 2017.
Kane has tallied 34 points in 45 games this season for the Blackhawks, who are tied for the worst mark in the NHL with 34 points (15-29-4).
Jan. 25, 2:57 p.m.
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic said Patrick Kane could decide he doesn’t want to be traded anywhere, but is more likely to move than teammate Jonathan Toews.
Kane, 34, is set to be an unrestricted free agent after the season. He is in the final year of an eight-year, $84 million deal he signed before the 2015-16 season, and had a $10.5 million cap hit entering this season.
In 43 games this season, Kane has nine goals and 22 assists for the Blackhawks — the second-worst team in the NHL, with just 32 points.
During the 2021-22 season, Kane had 26 goals and 66 assists in 78 games.
Jan. 19, 11:40 p.m.
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov has been a name the Rangers have asked about according to Arthur Staple of The Athletic.
Staple says that the price for Gavrikov is reportedly a first-rounder plus a mid-round pick.
Gavrikov would be a rental, though, as he’s in the final year of his three-year, $8.4 million deal with Columbus.
In 43 games this season, the 27-year-old has 10 points (three goals).
Jan. 17, 4:02 p.m.
San Jose Sharks forward Timo Meier has “risen to the very top of the list” as a trade target for the Rangers, reports Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.
Seravalli notes that Meier has a $10 million qualifying offer that’s due to him at the end of the season, when he is set to become an unrestricted free agent.
Meier, 26, is earning $10 million this season ($6 million cap hit).
In 45 games this season, Meier has 25 goals and 20 assists.
Jan. 17, 9:49 a.m.
Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane is seen as a “perfect fit” for the Rangers ahead of the deadline, writes Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.
“It’s felt like a match since Kane hit the trade rumor mill: the bright lights of Broadway being the perfect stage for the veteran offensive magic man — not to mention a reunion with old pal Artemi Panarin,” LeBrun writes.
Source: Yahoo Sports
