The trade deadline is not only a huge deal for hockey teams to make that final push for the playoffs and to become serious cup contenders but also to solidify a good foundation for the years to come. This year’s trade deadline recently ended, but one team managed to get the absolute best player available. Patrick Kane, after spending almost his entire fifteen year NHL career with the Chicago Blackhawks, is moving on. He was moved to the Big Apple to play with the New York Rangers as the team looks to make that Stanley Cup push.

Patrick Kane was traded on Tuesday, February 8, for a 2023 conditional third-round pick and a 2025 fourth-round pick. This trade has been anticipated for a while. Patrick Kane had grown unhappy with the way that the Blackhawks have been playing this season; the Blackhawks currently tied for last place in the entire league. Kane. being the superstar he is, wanted to move onto a team that had the opportunity to win another Stanley Cup before he retired. With these hopes in mind, he had shown aspirations to play for the Rangers, for they are serious cup contenders and can make lots of noise in the postseason. With this move, he is now reunited with former teammate Artemi Panarin, who he played with back in Chicago. 

The Rangers hope to load up enough with new fire power in order to get by the best team in hockey: the Boston Bruins. On Sunday, the Bruins broke the single season win record with their 63rd win of the season. But no task is too small when adding a top-five forward in the league. Patrick Kane’s elite playmaking adds a very good offensive presence when on the ice but not to mention his electric shot. He can pick corners left and right from extreme angles. 

What also made this trade so amazing is that the Rangers got Kane for nothing. Kane is at very least a first-round pick. But to get only a third and fourth-round pick is brutal. The Blackhawks should have negotiated for more because they need it; they have become a very bad team and one of the teams that have been tossed into the category that is only going downhill. The Blackhawks needed to get more for such a superstar. 

Major props to the Rangers’ front office for pulling this trade off in order to make them a lethal team come postseason.