kane dont wanna play for a joke franchise

Tbf anywhere is less of a joke than the 22-23 Blackhawks are gonna be

TBF, any organization is less of a joke than the Blackhawks in general. Not just for the 22-23 season. haha

I don’t know if Kane makes much sense for the Leafs tbh. They already have an elite offense and that’s really all Kane is gonna add to them. I think they’re better off spending the assets and cap space on a player or players that better fit what they’re lacking.

Since the Jones trade absolutely

And now Eddie is leaving... If it didn't feel so awful rooting for other teams, I would have already left my CHI fandom behind.

I like this idea but would structure the trade differently. Kane is only owed 2.9 m on his 10.5 m contract Chicago has ample cap room to retain 50% flip to another team to retain another 50% so Kane lands at 2.625 m cap hit Very easy even for the leaf's. The amount we would have to send to Hawks is painful. This is what we did with Foligno a few seasons ago. I can see a Kane trade to either TML or the Rangers for his off season life .He is sure not happy with all the moves Chicago has made

A few issues with this:

1) Kane isn't moving in the off-season and someone needs to be traded from the Leafs roster now, and that's probably Kerfoot if they sign Sandin.

2) I know you said let's pretend both players waive for CHI. I would say okay for Kerfoot since he's on a one year deal and he can get top minutes there and potentially be traded before the deadline or at least potentially boost his stock (ofc that could backfire if he doesn't play well). Muzzin, however, isn't in the same situation, he does have a m-NTC but I don't see him moving to a none contender that wouldn't keep him around in the short term let alone long-term.

3) Kane will likely want to go to a team he considers a true contender which will be more apparent around deadline or perhaps a bubble tean that he would potentially like to sign with for the rest of his career. In the first case, Toronto might be on his radar, and they will kick tires on him but they won't be willing to give up Knies or any prospect that can surely help them in the next couple of years, which could be a deal breaker. If Chicago wants picks more than anything I could see Toronto give those up and B-level prospects. Chances are though, they get outbidded by the other options. Knies is going to be just as valuable if not more than Hagel and his 1.5b contract for TB. So at least a couple of 1sts.

4) Teams like EDM, TOR, and NYR will want to add him to put them over the top, so they won't be giving up key players of their current roster bit futures unless they have hopes of resigning him. That being said Chi will probably only be interested in futures and perhaps players who are 20yrs old or younger.

5) TOR will need 50% retention which won't be much of an issue since most of Kane's salary will have been paid by the TDL

Kane to the Leafs doesn't make sense.
Cap doesn't work unless the hawks take your muzzin kerfoot cap dumps in which case the return must go up which Toronto can't afford. Or you have another team retain but that still ups Kanes value to a point Toronto can't afford. Does Toronto wanna give up knies and a couple firsts for 1 year of Kane at 2.6 mil? Doubt it.
Not to mention I doubt Kane wants to go play in Toronto for a year and barely see his kid.

Since 2019 actually

I agree with a lot of what you said with the exception of teams like Tor and the NYR who had decades long cup droughts and are under a lot of pressure for success. Knies isn't going to turn the Leafs into a cup contender nor is Kaapo if he has another meh season and if both teams are in the position and looking good and that window is cracked open, you go for it and swing that window wide open for a game series changing player. Kane automatically increases any team's chance dramatically in the playoffs; very few players have the ability to slot right in, play with anyone and make that line much better.

That said, whether the offense is needed on a team will be determined closer to mid season. NYR seem like a better fit simply because they struggle more with offense (at least last playoff run), much less so the Leafs so not so sure it makes sense for the Leafs.

Last thing I'll say, to the AGM owner, not a chance you acquire Kane and move him out of his RW position...defeats the purpose.

Leafs think highly of Knies and have yet to see what he brings and they think he's NHL ready and that he will fit well. If Kane doesn't pan out then they have nothing for next year which is why I don't think they would include Knies. They have pressure to win in the next two years, while Dubas does have pressure to win a round but he has a greater chance of keeping his job imo if the Leafs go out in the firsts round with Kane after trading away Knies and other futures than if they went out with/without Kane but kept Knies and lost a ton of first round picks.

As for NYR, I think they would give up significant pieces like a Kakko or Lafreniere (assuming they aren't better than Kane next season) because only one of them is true needed for their top 6 anyways, so technically trading one of them based of their potential isn't really a significant piece vs in Toronto's case Knies is a guy that they expect to play in their top 6 and make an impact sooner rather than later. NYR also have a better chance of trying to work out an extension just on the fact that they have Panarin (even if he hates NY city or prefers to play far from home).

Every fan loves their prospects but the majority never reach their potential. Leafs have a 2 year window and need to go for it as they are looking quite foolish against cap hell with 6 first series exits to show for it. Look at Dach or KK, much higher valued prospects then Knies and so far can't put it together in the NHL. Happens all the time and more often then fans want to admit. That said, on paper the Leafs are worse then they were last year, so probably a bad fit for that and for the fact they will likely need a goalie and or defender more then Kane.

NY is even more cap strapped going into next season and beyond so it's probably a one and done deal for Kane in NY is my guess.

It’s less about the money/availability of Kane and more about his fit on the team. He just seems superfluous

18-19 and 19-20 were kinda fun years. 20-21 sucked but I really liked what we were building towards coming out of that year. Blew it all to hell by trading the whole future for Jones and since then it’s been one nightmare after another

Honestly, Bowman miscalculated after the 2017 season. That loss to Nashville should have been a clear sign we needed to retool and were done with our dynasty....most of us fans saw it but Bowman didn't...go figure

The thing about Knies though is I think Dubas like his skillset and he probably thinks that would compliment the top lines perfectly. It's true that he might not turn out but I think they are confident enough in him that he at least improves the top 6 even if he doesn't become a superstar same way Bunting did with the top line. Got to consider that they passed on trading Knies in a package that returned Hagel and Fleury last tdl which I'm sure that they thought the both of them would have significantly improved the team while rectifying the Mrazek deal, so I don't think Kane changes that. I'm pretty sure Dubas plans to lock Matthews at whatever cost next off-season and he will know then if Matthews plans to walk or not. They will likely face another cap crunch as they build their team around Matthews and Nylander's new contracts assuming they both resign but as long as the cap doesn't stay flat they should be able to have a competitive team which is why Knies is important to keep around. If anyone gets traded for Kane it would be Robertson if he doesn't crack the top 6, of course his value would take a hit even more. If Robertson+ isn't enough and they really want Kane, I think Niemela goes before Knies does.


As for Kane in NYR, they will approach it as a one and done but I'm sure they would be open to trying to make something work if both parties really like the fit, similar to Giroux with Flr even though ultimately he decided to move on. They won't be worrying about the next off-season if they do acquire him.