Top contenders enter Patrick Kane sweepstakes especially with latest update!

Patrick Kane is reportedly ahead of schedule when it comes to the recovery from hip resurfacing surgery in June. That means that chatter about where the veteran free agent will sign is growing louder. Insiders have fed the chatter when they pointed to teams who could use Kane on their roster, and it all started with the dream of seeing the 34-year-old forward sign back home in Buffalo. TSN’s Darren Dreger believes the Sabres are amongst the teams interested in signing Kane, who could be more than willing to play back home and with a talented young group.

However, his colleague Dave Poulin claimed on TSN 1050 that if indeed Kane’s hip condition heals as expected then the Leafs will be “at the forefront of potential suitors.” There are reports floating around that Toronto could add Kane for league minimum and then bump up his pay if he produces.

On Wednesday, Chris Johnston explained on Insider Trading on TSN how contending teams will struggle to fit Kane under their cap and will need to find creative ways.

“A lot of the contending teams, the sort of teams that would want to sign Patrick Kane, are entering this year either right at the salary cap ceiling or in LTIR. That’s roughly two thirds of the league, as we’re projecting it right now. There aren’t a lot of mechanisms those teams can pull in order to create cap space. They can’t give him a 35-or-over bonus – Kane missed that by five months, being able to be eligible for those sorts of things. Can’t really give him a signing bonus because that bumps up the salary cap hit in the first year. Ultimately, it might come to a team that has an injury in October or perhaps one of the handful that have some cap space right now.”

To top it off, Sportsnet’s Ryan Dixon has shifted his attention to the Carolina Hurricanes, saying how they could seek additional scoring to finally get over the playoff hump, especially after the Max Pacioretty experiment failed last season as he was limited to just five games in 2022-23 by a twice-torn Achilles heel.

We all know Kane will be looking to sign with a top Stanley Cup contender in order to get another shot at the championship before retirement, and it sounds like the Hurricanes fit the bill. But could the Maple Leafs come out so strong that Kane dictates his agent Pat Brisson to make it work in Toronto?

Stay tuned.

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