Biggest update on Patrick Kane is out and it's nothing anyone expected
Photo credit: Tim Fuller-Imagn Images
Patrick Kane is still unsigned in late July, and the holdup in Buffalo may have nothing to do with money.
The 37-year-old winger left the Detroit Red Wings after posting 57 points in 67 games, and Chris Chelios says the choice is down to the Buffalo Sabres and Chicago Blackhawks.
The newest update adds a wrinkle: Kane is in no rush, and Buffalo may need to move a body or two before he gets the minutes he wants.
That line is the whole story, and almost nobody is following it to its conclusion.
Jarmo Kekalainen opened free agency with about $10.9 million, then spent most of it on Zach Benson and Beck Malenstyn.
Buffalo now sits near $5 million in space, with a forward group that was already crowded before Kane entered the picture.
Chicago already cleared Buffalo's books once
On June 23, Kekalainen sent Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway to Chicago for the fourth and 45th picks plus Louis Crevier.
That trade shed $10.25 million in cap hits, and Kyle Davidson absorbed it because a rebuilding roster could.
Chicago still carries roughly $14.3 million in space after Connor Bedard's five-year, $75 million extension, according to PuckPedia.
So the club bidding against Buffalo is also the likeliest landing spot for whichever forward Buffalo must subtract to fit Kane.
Why waiting is the smart play
Bedard had left shoulder surgery on July 8 and is not expected back until around November, so Jeff Blashill needs someone to drive scoring early.
That is a real top-six role for Kane, not a nostalgia shift.
Lindy Ruff's Sabres won the Atlantic Division and fell to Montreal in the second round, and they cannot promise that same runway yet.
Kane is not stalling out of indecision.
He is waiting for one of two front offices to make the room, and Chicago may end up making it for both.
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