Patrick Kane hints at what’s in store for him next year

Patrick Kane is currently out of contract for the coming season.

The player, it should be remembered, has been under the knife for a long-standing hip injury. He has a long convalescence period ahead of him, and should only be ready to play in December.

That said, Kane and Pat Brisson (his agent) are not interested in agreeing terms with any team at the moment. The plan is to see how things go at the start of the season in terms of his health…

And until he’s “back to 100%”, Kane won’t be signing a contract.

I respect his decision.

Patrick Kane has three Stanley Cup rings lying around the house.

The veteran’s main objective is to add a fourth to his collection, and to do so, he should sign a contract later this year with a team that aspires to the big time.

I’d be surprised to see him return to the West. Kane was keen to be traded to the Big Apple last year, to be closer to where he grew up (New York State), so I’m thinking it wouldn’t make sense.

But there’s still a long, long way to go before he makes up his mind. At the start of the season, he’ll have to assess the performance of the clubs he’s interested in, the injury situation at the clubs he’s interested in… And at this level, anything can happen.

There’s also the matter of his health, which could perhaps stand in his way. Will the various NHL GMs be reluctant to offer a contract to a 34-year-old (35 in November) coming off hip surgery?

We’re talking about Patrick Kane, however. It may be a big risk for some clubs… but it could also pay off big time.

We’ll keep you posted. For now, we can only wish him a fine rehabilitation, and hope that he is able to return to 100% as he wishes.

In bursts

– A first NHL contract for Dvorský.

– What’s your prediction for Connor Bedard for the 2023-2024 season?

Will Connor Bedard shine as brightly as McDavid did when he arrived in the NHL? ✨ The latter had 48 points in 45 games in his rookie season! pic.twitter.com/xW4VQw8t8c

– RDS (@RDSca) July 14, 2023

– CH legend Chris Tierney agrees terms on a contract with the Devils.

– Right. Another case.

– Karl Alzner’s contract… I still have nightmares about it.

Just remembered how Marc Bergevin played hardball with Andrei Markov, who had 990 games with the Habs.

He would’ve become the first Habs player to reach the illustrious 1000 games milestone since Robinson (86) & Gainey (87).

MB then signed Karl Alzner for 5 years at $23M 🤦‍♂️ https://t.co/jkmb51QVGE

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) July 14, 2023