It is going to hurt to see the Chicago Blackhawks trade Patrick Kane

Chicago Blackhawks fans are trapped in a glass case of emotions thanks to technicalities in the NHL salary cap.

A possible trade was reported last Saturday that will send Chicago Blackhawks legend Patrick Kane to the New York Rangers. The trade is being held up because the Rangers have to clear the necessary salary cap space to fit Kane onto their payroll.

A third team might be needed to take on 25 percent of Patrick Kane’s cap hit, or it might not. Let’s just say there are a few wrinkles the Rangers need to iron out but it appears Kane is destined to leave the only franchise he has ever known.

Kane was going to be a free agent after the season so trading him before the deadline was something the Chicago Blackhawks were going to explore.

Well, only if Kane wanted out since he has a full no-movement clause. It appears he will waive it to join former teammate Artemi Panarin and chase a Stanley Cup in the Big Apple.

Like Thanos in the Avengers, this trade appears to be inventible. The Hawks are in a rebuild and having Kane is a luxury and no longer a necessity.

It hurts that Patrick Kane will no longer wear a Chicago Blackhawks sweater.

It hurts because it officially marks the end of the greatest chapter in Chicago Blackhawk’s history.

The Chicago Blackhawks are already without their longtime captain, Jonathan Toews. Then Kane left the team on Saturday to wait out the trade.

Suddenly, the two players most connected to the Chicago Blackhawks’ run of three Stanley Cups are gone.

The last time the Hawks did not have Kane or Toews on the ice was the final game of the 2015 season. It was the first time since 2004 the Chicago Blackhawks did not have Kane, Toews, Brent Seabrook, or Duncan Keith on the ice.

Along with Marian Hossa, those five formed a core group that captured the attention of Chicago. Patrick Kane was probably the best of the five. While Hossa, Keith, and Seabrook are now retired, and there is a good chance Toews might be done, Kane is still playing at a high level.

Yes, his numbers are down but that is because the talent around him is not up to par to play with him.

He is not skating next to Alex DeBrincat, Patrick Sharp, or Panarin anymore. That makes losing Kane even more painful.

The Chicago Blackhawks could not build another cup contender around Patrick Kane. Instead of recognizing that the contention window closed after being swept by Nashville in the first round of the 2017 playoffs, former general manager Stan Bowman doubled down.

That miscalculation led to this moment.

Instead of recognizing that the next great Chicago Blackhawks team should have been built around Kane and Panarin, Bowman traded Panarin to bring back Brandon Saad. He also paid Seabrook for his past performance which tied up precious salary cap space even more.

Bowman made more miscalculations that led to the team’s decline. It did not help that he left the farm system bare after he was fired in 2021.

Now, current general manager Kyle Davidson must clean up the mess and rebuild the franchise. It means it will have to be done without Patrick Kane.

Kyle Davidson can offer Kane a contract extension to keep one of the greatest Blackhawks around. Kane would be a perfect mentor if the Hawks win the number one pick in the NHL Draft Lottery and the right to draft generational talent, Connor Bedard.

Here is the thing, it seems like Kane wants to chase another Stanley Cup. He wants to do this since he agreed to stay away from the team. The chances of him not testing the free-agent waters for the first time in his career would seem slim.

That is why even though this season felt like it was a farewell tour, it is still going to sting to see Kane wearing a Rangers sweater. It does not help that Kyle Davidson is not going to get a great return since Kane is limiting the teams Davidson can do business with.

It would have been nice for Kane to play for the Chicago Blackhawks his entire career.

We are talking about the man who scored probably the most important goal in franchise history when he found the back of the net in overtime during Game 6 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final.

That goal helped bring the Stanley Cup back to Chicago for the first time since 1961. He helped bring it home two more times. Those glory days are over now and soon Kane’s days with the Blackhawks will be done. It is just not the way many had hoped it would end.