Toronto Maple Leafs: Weighing the Pros and Cons of a Patrick Kane Trade

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As with almost any big-name player that either hits free agency or becomes available for a possible trade, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been linked to Chicago Blackhawks star winger Patrick Kane.

At some point, just about any star player is going to be linked with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In large part this is tied to a fanbase that is dying for play-off success but also one desperate for any sort of hockey news in the doldrums of late summer.

Of course, the most recent two big names were coming from free agency and were both lined up as homecoming heroes, which certainly wouldn’t quite be the case with a Buffalo-born Patrick Kane.

Steven Stamkos opted to remain in Tampa and has played his part in two Stanley Cup wins. John Tavares meanwhile has great but hasn’t quite pushed the Leafs over the top.

Patrick Kane needs no real introduction. He’s a three-time Stanley Cup winner, the 2007 first overall pick; a Calder, Conn Smythe, Art Ross, Hart and Ted Lindsay Award winner and arguably the best ever American-born player in the NHL.

In 1,107 career regular-season games, he has totaled 1,180 points. Even if he is past the age of thirty, he has shown himself able to keep producing.

On an incredibly poor Chicago Blackhawks team last season, he still managed 92 points after all.

His availability appears to still be a little questionable but with a massive knock-down and rebuild project in Chicago, you’d have to imagine Kane might well be keen to be moved elsewhere.

This is a player that very much can change a game with his playmaking talents, albeit one that has a price tag that certainly lives up to his talents.

Simply told, regardless of price, these sorts of talents don’t typically become available even if most links to the Leafs appear to be pure conjecture.

If the Toronto Maple Leafs however did go all-in in acquiring such a ‘big fish’, it’d come with certain drawbacks. Here we weigh up the pros and cons of any such trade, however likely or unlikely it is.

Mar 13, 2019; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane (88) pursues the puck against Toronto Maple Leafs in the first period at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /

Pros of a Toronto Maple Leafs Trade for Patrick Kane

The case for the Toronto Maple Leafs to add a talent like Patrick Kane is pretty obvious; 92-point players don’t just become available very often, if at all.

A trade of this magnitude would absolutely be the ‘Summer of Kawhi‘ moment that highlights just how much the franchise wants to get the job done and finally bring the Stanley Cup back to Toronto.

The most obvious pro, beyond the mega marketing dollars the duo of Kane and Auston Matthews could command for the Leafs south of the border, is the pairing those two could potentially be on the ice.

Here you have Matthews, coming off a 106-point season combining with possibly one of the league’s best right-wingers ever (at the very least arguably the best in the last decade). As a duo, they could be unstoppable.

The second pro of such a scenario is that Mitch Marner could reunite with John Tavares. Their last full season together saw Tavares score a career-high 47 goals.

Assuming William Nylander remained a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs in any transaction, you’re then got a clear top-six talent that you can potentially deploy both on the third-line or at will on the top two lines to screw up the opposition’s match-ups.

Obviously, for any deal to be made there would be considerable salary hurdles to be cleared, but assuming an end result of at least 50% being retained, Patrick Kane would be on one of the league’s biggest bargain deals especially if he maintained last year’s form.

After all, 92 points on one of the league’s least impressive teams is truly remarkable. On one of the league’s most impressive offensive teams, you’d have to imagine Kane could easily add another 10 or 20 points to that total.

Patrick Kane would absolutely bring a lot beyond just his points total to the Maple Leafs organization. He has been there and knows how to get it done in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Adding him would be the biggest indicator that this year’s Leafs are truly all or nothing and equally importantly, would prevent any rival bolstering their ranks.

However, such a deal isn’t without considerable risk involved. Here we look at the cons of pursuing a Patrick Kane trade.

Jan 18, 2020; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (88) . Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports /

The Cons

Perhaps it sounds too obvious, but the cons far outweigh the pros of simply adding a truly high-calibre winger.

First and foremost, at what cost would the Toronto Maple Leafs be adding Patrick Kane.

Any deal to take a star player off their hands obviously starts with future high-tier draft picks. From there, the Leafs would be needing to add some of their best prospects.

So let’s say Matthew Knies is gone and potentially Topi Niemala or Nick Robertson. Now add Alex Kerfoot and Rasmus Sandin to the deal ensuring a ready-to-go NHL player and a young option too; then you’re maybe somewhere near something semi-agreeable.

Is a season of Patrick Kane worth the value of at least 4 or 5 combined seasons of Knies and Niemala or Robertson on entry-level salaries?

Right now, the Toronto Maple Leafs are almost $1.5 million over the salary cap, per CapFriendly. That number doesn’t include a contract renewal for Rasmus Sandin either. The salary cap must absolutely be a consideration.

Patrick Kane is in the final year of a $10.5 million contract; the math just doesn’t add up very easily. Significant salary retention likely with a third team involved, invariably making the deal even more challenging, would be required.

Assuming the Toronto Maple Leafs cleared the significant hurdles of salary and a trade package; the next con is that Patrick Kane would invariably upset the team’s chemistry.

The team has two fantastic right-wing talents already in Mitch Marner and William Nylander. With the need to ensure both of those two players and Kane saw enough ice-time, someone is going to invariably end up on their off-wing.

Now, you could definitely see positives in rolling a line of Nylander, Tavares and Kane; but is there actually enough puck to go around with that much offensive skill, and what happens to defense?

Patrick Kane would definitely be a superstar signing and one that you might even call franchise-defining but it would really be a foolhardy decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs to make this summer.

Even at the trade deadline, it still doesn’t make that much more sense without considerable injuries elsewhere on the roster.

Next. The Leafs Should Get Kane. dark

While it is fun to dream, this one should stay a dream.

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