Insider names one of the teams trying to trade for Patrick Kane.

The National Hockey League's trade deadline is now only a few weeks away and things are starting to get very interesting as more and more names join the list of potential trade candidates ahead of the deadline.

Perhaps the biggest name that was bandied about this week has been that of Chicago Blackhawks star forward Patrick Kane, a player that in the eyes of many already ranks among the greatest American born players in the history of the sport. Kane has played his entire NHL career as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks but after some major upheavals in the Blackhawks front office as well as a poor product on the ice this season there are some indications that the team may be looking for a drastic change in direction. Moving Kane's massive cap hit of $10.5 million off the books would be one way to do that to be sure, and somewhat unsurprisingly it sounds like there are teams around the league interested in the possibility of making such a move a reality.

Recently on the NHL Network, the Fourth Period's David Pagnotta discussed the possibility of Kane being moved ahead of the trade deadline, and he went out of his way to mention the Colorado Avalanche as one of the potential suitors for Kane's services should that become a reality.

"Colorado is poking around, they've had discussions with Vancouver about J.T. Miller, and they are one of the team's that has reached out to Chicago to say 'hey if you're in position and Patty Kane is looking to move give us a call we wanna make that happen," said Pagnotta during his appearance on the NHL Network.

Kane would have to be on board with the move in order for it to happen however with the forward having a full no-movement clause over the full term of his 8 year deal with the Blackhawks. Any team acquiring him would also have to find a way to accommodate his salary for both this season and the next, with Kane's contract only set to run out at the end of next season. The Blackhawks have the ability to facilitate a trade involving Kane by absorbing as much as 50% of his cap hit for both this season and the next, however for them to do so would likely cost any team's looking to make such a move a king's ransom.

Kane is having a down year at 33 years old this season with 17 goals and 38 assists for 55 points over 51 games, but even though that is a dip in production by his standards those are solid offensive numbers. That is especially true when you consider the fact that the Blackhawks have been among the worst teams in the NHL this season, which also helps explain Kane's plus minus rating of -20 on the season.

If you would like to listen to Pagnotta's full comments on the matter, you can check out his appearance on the NHL Network this week in the short clip below.