Chicago Blackhawks: Would they ever trade Toews or Kane?

The Chicago Blackhawks are running into their third straight summer following a failed season. Would they ever think about trading one of their superstars?

The Chicago Blackhawks are coming off their third straight season where they weren’t good enough to make the playoffs. If the league expands to 24 playoff teams once play resumes then they would make it but they aren’t a true playoff team. They simply aren’t good enough and a large chunk of that is because of bad decisions made by upper management. They simply don’t have a good enough roster to be a true playoff threat.

So could they take the most drastic measures to get a true rebuild going? That would be trading one or both of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. There might be some that think this is the craziest notion of all time but nobody is actually untouchable in the NHL. Wayne Gretzky was traded in his prime and he is statistically the greatest athlete to ever live. If Kane or Toews waived their no-move clause to go win somewhere else, it would be a possibility to see them traded.

Kane and Toews would each get the Blackhawks an incredible return at this point in their careers. They both make a lot of money which would be the only thing that makes them hard to trade. Each of them makes 10.5 million against the cap until the end of the 2022-23 season. Their careers will not be over after that year but they might not be as productive as they are today. A team that would take them on right now would need to have a lot of extra cap space and assets that they would be willing to give up for players of this caliber.

Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews have each won the Stanley Cup three times and each of them has won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. That is the type of experience that is so valuable to a team looking to get over the hump. Anyone that needs help in those areas would love to add guys like this if they were available.

In the case of Patrick Kane, a team would be getting one of the best offensive players in the world. He is capable of putting up 90-100 points year in and year out. In Jonathan Toews’ case, you would be getting a captain that brings an elite game in all three zones. He can score anywhere from 65-80 points while being one of the best defensive centers in the world. Each of them is so different and could help a contender in different ways.

It is unlikely that this will happen anytime soon but it isn’t completely unrealistic to think about it ever happening. There has been no word about this happening and this is nothing more than speculation. The time to move on from that great core that was so great for their franchise is coming sooner than later but it would be nice to see them make one more run together in Chicago.