J.T. Miller has already been linked to the Rangers, but is Patrick Kane an option?
The New York Rangers are expected to be among the busier teams at this year's trade deadline. As one of the NHL's top teams, they should almost certainly be buyers and, according to The Athletic's Arthur Staple, there are several big targets who make sense for the Blue Shirts, but the two biggest names mentioned are Vancouver's J.T. Miller and Chicago's Patrick Kane.
Miller has been in the rumour mill for awhile and does make a lot of sense for the Rangers, especially given the fact that he was a Rangers draft pick (15th overall in 2011) and spent 6 seasons in The Big Apple before being dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning during a Rangers rebuild. It could be one hell of a redemption arc if Miller was to return to where it all started and win a Stanley Cup with the team that drafted him.
Meanwhile, Patrick Kane being a possible target for the Rangers is admittedly farfetched in Staple's eyes, but the 33-year-old is a New York native (Buffalo) and may invite a change of scenery and the opportunity to pursue another Stanley Cup - especially with all of the noise and uncertainty in Chicago.
Kane has a NMC, a lofty salary and has one year remaining on his current deal. With all of that in mind, if management have any doubts that Kane will re-sign, it does make sense to trade him while he's still at the top of his game to maximize the return. That said, as Staple points out, Kane recently came out and declared that he would like to have a closer relationship with the next Hawks GM, mentioning that the players can provide some very valuable insight on other players from around the league. Sounds like he'd like to be more hands-on in the decision making in Chicago.
Kane has 44 points in 44 games this season and is still an elite RW in the NHL.
