Agent gives frustrating update about Patrick Kane's NHL future
Although it appears ex-Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews is heading for retirement, the same can’t be said for former teammate Patrick Kane.
While Kane is expected to land with another team in 2023, the timeline of when exactly he will pick said team got a little murkier on Thursday when his agent, Pat Brisson, told ESPN that Kane likely wouldn’t sign a new contract before the season begins.
"There's no rush,” Brisson said. “…You could offer me a one-year deal or a two-year deal right now at $7 million or so. I don't even know if I want to entertain it because it's not what he needs. We'll see, at the right time, how he feels, where he's at, and then we'll take it from there."
Kane, who scored a respectable 21 goals and 57 points with the Blackhawks and New York Rangers last season, underwent hip surgery at the beginning of June and is expected to be sidelined four to six months — putting him in line to return to the ice anytime between the start of the 2023 season in mid-October and Christmas.
Despite turning 35 a little over month into the season, Kane told reporters during locker cleanout that he doesn’t feel nearly as old as his age alone would suggest and that he believes he can still be a top-six-caliber player on some teams.
It seems for now the plan is for Kane to focus on recovering and worry about a contract later. Brisson’s comments appear to indicate that when Kane is ready to sign a deal, winning a Stanley Cup may be more important than who can pay him the most money.
"Let's make sure he is 100 percent and that he feels great,” Brisson added. “Then we can decide where he's going to go. There's going to be plenty of teams doing good, plenty of teams doing bad. … We'll pick where we want to go. I don't think too many teams will turn him down."
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