New York Rangers in Advanced Stages of Huge Move, Report

When they traded for F Vladimir Tarasenko, it was believed that the New York Rangers took themselves out of the running for Patrick Kane. That notion was dispelled by Larry Brooks of The New York Post on Wednesday.

Per Brooks, the Rangers are still in on Kane and are willing to go big to make it work. Kane has been on FIRE since the Tarasenko trade. In his last 4 games, Kane has collected 7 goals and 3 assists, reminding everyone that he is still - in fact - Patrick Kane.

Rangers will be in on Kane, Post has learned. https://t.co/gbWbZEMHd1 via @nypostsports— Larry Brooks (@NYP_Brooksie) February 23, 2023

Brooks' story makes for good press, but how accurate is it? NHL Insider Emily Kaplan of ESPN corroborated Brooks' report somewhat, when she wrote that the Rangers' deal for Kane was further along than initially reported.

I suspect that Kaplan was referring to the period before the Tarasenko trade, which is a noteworthy distinction, but good to know all the same. The Rangers are still believed to be Kane's #1 choice, which leverages GM Chris Drury's position considerably.

So, how will the Rangers make it work?

CapFriendly shows that New York currently has just $206,292 in cap space, which is way short of Kane's $10.5 million cap-hit. While that isn't exactly promising, there are options. For instance, Toronto just brokered a three-way deal with St. Louis and Minnesota to absorb just 25% of Ryan O'Reilly's $7.5 million cap-hit.

The simplest way the Rangers can make the money work is by getting Chicago to retain 50% of Kane's salary, then paying a third-party team a 2nd/3rd round pick (Toronto paid a 4th, but Kane's salary is higher) to also retain 50%, which would bring Kane's cap-hit down to $2.625 million. As long as they can move that amount of money out, they are all set.

New York shouldn't have too much trouble clearing room. Chicago can still fit 4 more contracts until they reach the organizational max of 50, and the Rangers have a few depth players they can waive or trade.

Vitali Kravtsov stands out, as he has an active trade request out there. F Jake Leschyshyn can be sent down to the minors, and perhaps D Niko Michelle - recently acquired from St. Louis.

All this to say, it's not as crazy as it sounds.

Source: Larry Brooks, The New York Post

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