Patrick Kane and the Panthers: What has to happen to sign the superstar
Florida remains a favorite to sign Kane, according to multiple reports
There has been increasing chatter of late regarding free agent Patrick Kane and where he’s going to resume his career.
The 35-year-old has been recovering and rehabbing over the past several months after undergoing hip resurfacing surgery in June.
Now, as he ramps up his training in preparation for what will be his 17th NHL season, speculation is growing regarding where the future Hall of Famer decides to lace up his skates for the foreseeable future.
The belief for some time has been that Kane preferred to make his decision around Thanksgiving.
Those close to Kane have been very tightlipped over the past several months, doing a great job keeping whatever he wants to do, for the most part, on the down low.
Currently, the information making its way public has been that Kane’s list of teams is a short one and that he wants to go somewhere he can compete for a Stanley Cup.
The two teams that seem to be getting the most attention in the Kane sweepstakes are the Florida Panthers and Detroit Red Wings.
Last week, NHL Insiders Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff and ESPN’s Kevin Weekes both separately reported that the Panthers were believed to be the front-runners in the Kane sweepstakes.
Then on Sunday night, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reiterated that Florida and Detroit are teams many believe are ones to watch while calling the task of trying to decipher where Kane wants to sign “tougher than a safe room” to get information on.
“I think we’re going to have an idea early this week where he is going and what he is going to do,” Friedman said.
For the Panthers to sign Kane, it will take a few things happening.
First and foremost, Florida will need a roster spot for him. At the moment, the Panthers have 22 of a possible 23 players on the team’s active roster. That includes 13 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies.
Florida is expected to take defenseman Josh Mahura off Injured Reserve in the coming days, and he would take that 23rd and final spot.
That means any potential Kane signing, before or after Mahrua comes off IR, would eventually require another roster move.
The only player on the roster who wouldn’t need to be waived in order to be loaned to the AHL is defenseman Uvis Balinskis. Waiving anyone else would put them at risk of being claimed by another team, which is exactly what happened over the past two days with Mike Reilly.
Another thing that would need to happen is Kane being cool with taking less money with Florida than probably anywhere else he’s getting offers from, at least for the remainder of this season.
If his main motivation is indeed winning, that shouldn’t be a major issue.
And if you’re wondering, Kane has earned as estimated $118 million over the course of his NHL career.
The Panthers currently have $1.65 million in cap space, per PuckPedia. That includes Mahura’s salary, which still counts against the cap despite him being on IR. Only when a player is on LTIR (long-term injured reserve) is a team granted cap relief for that player’s salary.
So to summarize, there is absolutely a path for the Panthers to sign Kane.
It’s a fairly specific one, but if Kane is truly serious about wanting to continue his career in South Florida and chase another Stanley Cup or two with the Panthers, the path is there for him to take.
We’ll see how things play out in the coming days.
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