At this point in time, if you have watched or read anything hockey related, you must know that there is a rift between Evander Kane and the Winnipeg Jets. There’s always been problems with him and the team, and there’s been constant controversy. I think now that Winnipeg is the last team he wants to play for, and the Jets should be gladly willing to ship him out because I doubt they can take much more.
Kane is not some scrub who can easily be sent to the minors, and that’s what makes the situation so tough for the Jets. They obviously know the former 4th overall pick from 2009 is extremely talented and can score 30 goals. So simply giving him up would be hard to do even if he does have attitude issues.
But the fact remains that Kane will most likely be traded at some point in the near future. He did have surgery that will keep him out for the remainder of the season (he could be back late playoffs), but that won’t stop teams from trying to acquire him.
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So then why is this Kane saga so important? Because it could potentially involve the Ottawa Senators. If you look at things piece by piece, it does make a bit of sense. Bryan Murray has said that he might want to do another “Bobby Ryan type trade,” which would be another young top-6 winger (which Kane is). Even though the defense is the bigger issue, we know that Ottawa is looking to add another forward like they always seem to be.
Furthermore, we can look back at some recent history to get a comparable player. Kyle Turris was unhappy in Phoenix and he wanted out. People in the media were blasting him for holding out to get a good contract, and his value was much lower than it had been in previous years. That’s when Ottawa struck, and the package of David Rundblad and a 2nd round pick for Turris remains one of Murray’s best trades.
Things with Kane are a bit different as he’s more established than Turris was at that point, but I bet the Senators look at him and see a player who has low value that could play much better in Ottawa. We know that Ottawa is in fact interested to him, and they have been in the past according to Elliotte Friedman:
"Buffalo, Philadelphia, maybe even Ottawa who has looked at Evander Kane in the past." Friedman during the intermission. #Sens
— SensChirp (@SensChirp) February 8, 2015
For a second just imagine these top three lines for Ottawa:
Kane-Turris-Stone
Hoffman-Zibanejad-Ryan
MacArthur-Pageau-Lazar
Those look like a very solid three lines. Now obviously even if Ottawa is interested, that doesn’t mean that Winnipeg would want to trade with them. Or if they did, would Kane like being in Ottawa? Because at the end of the day, he needs to be in a good environment where he can be comfortable and be able to thrive. If he becomes a dressing room cancer, the trade will be a disaster.
And while I do believe he needs to pick up the slack on his attitude, it does get overstated too much by the media. He’s only 23 years old and he can flat-out play. His career high of 57 points isn’t too amazing, but also with better teammates and more experience I think he can be a 60-70 point player. You know who else fits that bill on Ottawa? Bobby Ryan. Both of those guys are very valuable, and they don’t become available anywhere very often.
Realistically, the Jets will be asking for Mika Zibanejad, Curtis Lazar, Cody Ceci, Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone or Robin Lehner
But acquiring him will not be easy. There will be plenty of other buyers, as most teams will be willing to take the risk of his personality. Of course the price for him would still be high as well. The price has fallen most likely since a year or two ago, but Winnipeg would still need a good young player going back that’s NHL ready. So a proposal of Erik Condra, Shane Prince and a 2nd round pick isn’t going to cut it.
Realistically, the Jets will be asking for Mika Zibanejad, Curtis Lazar, Cody Ceci, Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone or Robin Lehner. And that’s fair from Winnipeg’s standpoint because they have every right to ask for those players. I would not give up Lehner, Zibanejad, Hoffman or Stone, but Lazar and Ceci I would be willing to trade. Everybody loves Lazar of course, but I’m worried about what his actual ceiling can be (stay tuned for a piece on that topic later this week).
If Lazar ends up being a third line centre, then trading him for Kane is absolutely the right move. But even just him wouldn’t be enough, but instead a package of something like Lazar, Puempel and a 1st could be more realistic. Then again, maybe the Jets laugh at that offer. Nevertheless, in order to get good players, you must give up asset(s) that you don’t want to give up. Losing Silfverberg hurt, but as of now I’d still do that trade for Ryan.
As for Kane’s production, the last three years he hasn’t exactly been a first line player, but more of second liner. Still, a player like that has a lot of value in a league that is slowing down in terms of offense. Here’s his “HERO” chart from 2012-present:
While his ice time has been that of a first liner, most other things show that he has produced as a second line player would. The one thing that really sticks out is his shots per 60. He’s amongst elite company with the amount of shots he gets, and maybe with a change of scenery and some more luck that will translate to more goals. It’s not exactly easy to get that many shots per game over a span of three seasons.
Ottawa isn’t and shouldn’t be in buyer mode right now, but trading for Kane wouldn’t indicate that they are “going for it.” He’s out for the rest of the season, and he would be a player that Ottawa can build around and help sustain a deep forward group. But if they want to do that, some hard decisions will have to be made.
If Ottawa really wants a top six forward, looking into Kane would be smart.