Kane Closing In On Decision Day; Could The Injury To Tage Thompson Change The Sabres Urgency To Add The Buffalo Native?

Three-time Cup winner rumored to have interest from at least eight teams

Author:
Michael Augello
Publish date:
Nov 18, 2023 5:03 PM EST

The injury to center Tage Thompson and their scoring issues may have the Buffalo Sabres more engaged in wooing free agent Patrick Kane, but with the 35-year-old winger nearing a decision on where he wants to play this season, it still remains an open question what how long of a deal he wants to sign and if he wants to sign with a Stanley Cup contender.

Kane is fully recovered after undergoing off-season hip resurfacing surgery and his agent Pat Brisson began speaking to interested teams at the GM meetings in Toronto last week.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek on the 32 Thoughts podcast indicated that Kane might be looking for a club with a good chance of winning the Stanley Cup this season, but that would require him to sign a short-term deal for a lower cap hit because most contenders have little or no cap space.

The Sabres do not fit the contender criteria currently, but they have among the most available cap space in the league this season and might be willing to offer the Buffalo native a multi-year contract. With their scoring issues, Buffalo would likely be interested in Kane, but the problem is that there is no way of knowing how effective the three-time Cup winner will be after a major procedure like hip resurfacing surgery.

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