Pat Brisson: “Kent Hughes would have been happy to welcome Patrick Kane to Montreal”.

For several weeks now, we’ve been wondering which team Patrick Kane would sign his next contract with. The former Blackhawks and Rangers player was waiting until he was back at 100% to make a decision about his future, and in the last few days, we suspected that the decision was imminent.

And yesterday morning, we finally learned the identity of his new team: it’s with the Detroit Red Wings (and Alex DeBrincat) that he’ll play the remainder of the current campaign.

Kane spoke to TNT earlier this evening about his new contract and his state of health.

What we do know, however, is that the Wings weren’t the only ones in the running. According to reports, the Maple Leafs, Sabres, Stars and Panthers, to name but a few, have all been linked to the forward in recent weeks.

Obviously, the fact that the CH is rebuilding means that it wasn’t necessarily easy to see a fit between Montreal and the American forward… but according to what Kane’s agent, Pat Brisson, said on the JiC show, there just might have been one :

For sure, Kent Hughes would have been happy to welcome [Patrick] Kane. – Pat Brisson

Obviously, Brisson is rather limited in what he can say to the media, but he really emphasized the salary reasons behind the decision. In fact, Brisson explains that several interested teams were stuck at the salary cap, so it was difficult to find a fit.

The CH, with a few million dollars under the cap, might have been able to work it out, but one suspects that the club also wanted to keep some wiggle room ahead of the trade deadline. Because while a Patrick Kane might have helped the club, he wouldn’t necessarily have been the best way to spend money in the context of a rebuild.

Would Kane have made the Tricolore a better team? Without a doubt. And if the CH were further along in its rebuilding process, perhaps Kane would have wanted to continue his career in Montreal.

But under the circumstances, it’s understandable that he would have preferred to reunite with a little maverick with whom he’s had success, Cole Caufield Alex DeBrincat, and a better line-up than the one he would have lined up with the Habs.

In gusto

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– Wow.

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– Very interesting read.

– To be continued.