The Wild have some cap space available if they want to sign a top-six forward for the next season. Does Patrick Kane make sense?

According to Puckpedia, the Minnesota Wild have just a bit under six million in projected cap space for next season. That includes both Marat Khusnutdinov and Liam Ohgren on the roster. 

They have three pending UFA's in Jake Lucchini, Dakota Mermis, and Alex Goligoski and two RFA's in Mason Shaw and Declan Chisholm. 

It doesn't seem like the Wild will bring back Mermis or Goligoski and will likely not qualify Shaw. That leaves Chisholm and Lucchini as guys the Wild would likely bring back. 

Lucchini, 29, played 40 games for the Wild last season. He had two goals and five points but had 11 goals and 23 points in 30 AHL games for the Iowa Wild. Evolving Hockey has Lucchini projected to get a one-year deal worth $775,000. 

Chisholm, 24, played in 29 games for the Wild last season where he notched three goals and eight points. The Wild will bring him back for sure. Evolving Hockey projects a one-year contract worth over $800,000. 

Assuming the Wild go with basically the same team next year and bring back Chisholm, they will have just about five million left in cap space. This likely means they could sign a player or two for under four million total. They will need the extra cap space throughout the year. 

If the Wild view Ohgren and Johansson as guys who can't play in the top six for the whole season then maybe they go out and target a free agent forward to play in that role. 

Names like Patrick Kane, David Perron, Viktor Arvidsson, Tyler Johnson, and Stefan Noesen make sense for top six forwards who are projected to make under four million. 

Arvidsson, 31, would not be a bad option but injuries have continued to keep him out of the lineup a lot. He played in 18 games last year for the Los Angeles Kings where he put up six goals and 15 points. Evolving Hockey has him projected to get a one-year deal at $3,055,000. 

Perron, 36, had 17 goals and 47 points in 76 games last year for the Detroit Red Wings and is projected to get a one-year deal at $2,412,000. 

Johnson, 33, has been pretty injury prone as well but put up 17 goals and 31 points in 67 games for the Chicago Blackhawks last season. He is projected to get a four-year deal with an AAV of $3,091,000. 

Noesen, 31, had 13 goals and 37 points last year in 81 games for the Carolina Hurricanes. He is fantastic defensively and is projected to receive a three-year deal with an AAV of $3,242,000.

Kane, 35, had 20 goals and 47 points in 50 games for the Red Wings last year and is projected to get another one-year deal at $2,460,000. He signed a one-year deal with the Red Wings with an AAV of $2,750,000 in November. 

The Buffalo, New York, native has won an Art Ross trophy, a Conn Smythe trophy, an MVP trophy, a Ted Lindsey trophy, and has won three Stanley Cups. He has 471 goals, 813, assists, and 1284 career points in 1230 games. 

He had 1,225 points (446 goals, 779 assists) in 1,161 games over 15 seasons with the Blackhawks and promptly owned the Wild for years. The Wild could simply end that by signing him to a contract. 

In his 16 seasons in the NHL, Kane has 25 goals, 29 assists, and 54 points in 58 career games against the Wild. He has eight goals and 15 points in 15 career playoff games against the Wild as well.

He scored the overtime winner in the second round of the 2014 playoffs against the Wild, in Minnesota, to advance to the Western Conference Finals.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DCu-S-G_-4[/embed]

The Wild made it to the second round again the next season but were swept by Kane and the Blackhawks. That was the last time the Wild have made it past the first round. They have lost in the first round seven times in the last nine seasons.

Kane has scored 0.43 goals-per-game against the Wild in his career. That ranks as the second highest GPG against the Wild in franchise history. Only Jarome Iginla has a higher goals-per-game at 0.46. 

The 35-year-old forward is also second All-Time in points-per-game at 0.93. Nathan MacKinnon has 59 points in 47 games against the Wild in his career, thanks to his ten points against the Wild in four games last season. The Wild were 0-3-1 in those four games.  

Point is, it wouldn't be a bad thing if the Wild signed Kane considering his Hall of Fame career. He can help mentor some of the younger forwards on the Wild currently, plus he still has a lot left in the tank to provide scoring to a team that struggled to get depth scoring all season last year. 

Should the Wild sign Patrick Kane? Join the discussion. 

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