Artemi Panarin has message for Patrick Kane

Chicago Blackhawks assistant captain and longtime forward Patrick Kane is in the midst of the final year of his eight year contract extension he inked shortly after the 2015 Stanley Cup championship; his longtime partner in crime Jonathan Toews is in the same situation. 

Unfortunately for Kane, he's not been producing at his usual rate. As it currently stands at the NHL All-Star break, he's only lit the lamp nine times along with adding 25 assists, a far cry from his typical offensive output. However, there's no denying that he'd still make a valuable addition to a contending team, with three Stanley Cup titles to his name. 

One team that he's been linked to over the past several months is the New York Rangers, who happen to feature a former teammate of his in the form of Russian sniper Artemi Panarin. As you may remember, Panarin and Kane established immediate chemistry with one another upon the latter's entrance into the NHL in 2015, and remained that way until Chicago made the bizarre decision to trade him to the Columbus Blue Jackets in order to re-acquire Brandon Saad in a deal that fell completely short. 

In the meantime, Panarin knows that his old linemate is on the trading block, and loves the idea of a reunion in the Big Apple, according to Molly Walker of The New York Post. 

"I've talked to Artemi Panerin and I know that he would love Patty Kane to come to New York, so I think all of that is being taken into consideration and I do think it's a possibility," she said during an appearance on the Forever Blueshirts podcast. 

"You can make an argument that he's not what they need, but I think that if you bring him and the connection that they had and the chemistry that they had, I think that's a pretty solid bet that any team would be willing to make." 

The NHL Trade Deadline falls on March 3, just over one month from now.