The New York Rangers have finally pulled the trigger on the long-rumored Patrick Kane trade.
After weeks of speculation, New York acquired the superstar forward as well as defense prospect Cooper Zech from the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday in exchange for a conditional 2023 second-round pick, a 2025 fourth-round pick and defenseman Andy Welinski. The Blackhawks also received Vili Saarijarvi from the Coyotes, while Arizona landed a 2025 fifth-round pick in the three-team deal.
Kane has tallied 16 goals and 29 assists in 54 games with Chicago this season. He has not played since Feb. 22, choosing to sit out as his future was being determined.
The 34-year-old spent 16 seasons with the Blackhawks after he was taken with the first-overall pick in 2007, scoring 446 goals and registering 1,225 points in 1,161 games. Kane led Chicago to three Stanley Cups in the span of five seasons between 2010 and 2015, notably scoring the championship-clinching goal against the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010.
“I’m so thankful for everything the city, the Blackhawks organization, my teammates and the fans have done for me and my family over the last 16 years — the support was constant from day one and Chicago will forever be home for us,” Kane wrote in a statement.
“This has been an emotional time for me and my family, but I feel this decision puts me in the best spot to immediately win another Stanley Cup. This isn’t about me leaving the Blackhawks, but this is an opportunity for me — the Blackhawks did everything they could to put me in a great position and I will forever be grateful. It is bittersweet to leave a place that is so special to me, but I will always carry the memories we made in Chicago.”
The nine-time All-Star has won an Art Ross Trophy, a Hart Memorial Trophy, a Ted Lindsay Award, a Conn Smythe Trophy and a Calder Memorial Trophy over his legendary career. Kane was named among the top-100 players in NHL history in 2017.
The Buffalo, New York native is in the final year of an eight-year, $84-million contract ($10.5 million AAV) he signed in July 2014.
