Five NHL Teams Fighting For Patrick Kane Now Known

NHL insider Chris Johnston published an article on the Athletic today in which he goes over five potential landing spots for the all-time great American winger. The teams he mentions are the Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Kane's top priority is rumored to be winning so he would likely want to sign with a team he believes can win now. That likely would eliminate the Red Wings and Sabres. Both teams are off to half decent starts this year, Detroit especially, but neither has a history of making the playoffs recently. Detroit likely would have the edge over Buffalo in this case because of their current position in the standings and they have Alex Debrincat, one of Kane's closest friends.

Outside of Detroit and Buffalo, the easiest pick for a playoff contender would probably be the Rangers. The team currently sits 1st in the Metro with a 9-2-1 record. Additionally, they were the last team to employ the veteran winger so they already know what he can bring. The Panthers went on a cup finals run last year but it could be seen as a fluke based on their regular season performance. So far they have not been particularly convincing this year. The Leafs have proven they can make the playoffs but have not done much more than that. With their shaky start to the season, Kane may want to avoid them and their cap situation will not help in luring him in.