Davidson, Kane haven’t talked about specific teams originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
As the NHL trade deadline nears, Blackhawks fans await a decision from Patrick Kane about his decision to either stay with the Hawks or seek a trade before he becomes a free agent this summer.
Yet, despite being less than two weeks away from the buzzer sounding on the trade deadline, general manager Kyle Davidson made it clear the Blackhawks and Kane haven’t yet discussed specific teams he would be interested in for a trade.
“We’ve had conversations over the last little while,” Davidson said on Blackhawks Pregame Live on NBC Sports Chicago. “We’ve stayed in pretty constant contact with both Pat [Brisson] and Patrick [Kane].
“We haven’t gotten to the point that we’re talking teams or anything that specific. I think we’re still getting to the point where we want to figure out what the decision is for the deadline; whether he wants to explore something new or stick around. We haven’t gotten to specifics. We’re just not there yet.”
The trade market is already underway, as Vladamir Tarasenko was traded to the New York Rangers and Ryan O’Reilly was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs recently.
Davidson mentioned none of the trades have “surprised” him so far. He believes the trades will “kickstart things a little bit” as the deadline approaches and more trades will soon follow.
And while it became somewhat clear the New York Rangers were a team Kane had his eye on, Davidson doesn’t believe the trades have or will hinder Kane’s ability to seek a new team.
“His timeline is our timeline and we share that there is no rush or need to push anything along for our purposes,” Davidson said. “I think when a decision is reached we’ll deal with it then. Doesn’t change anything on our end.”
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The March 3 trade deadline is approaching rapidly and Kane is marketing his abilities well. Last game, he recorded a hat trick against the Maple Leafs – who were once thought of as a potential landing spot for Kane before they traded for O’Reilly.
As Davidson assures, no less, the Blackhawks and Kane have had constant communication and each side has worked in collaboration to live up to Kane’s and the team’s desires.
“I think there’s no other way to be transparent,” Davidson said. “Being a collaborative process here, we share all the information with each other. Because in the end, you want the player to have all the information he needs to make a decision. And we’ll go from there when a decision is made. “
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