Idle SabreSpacer speculation re: Patrick Kane

[sweetlou]

It's just not click bait, but until he signs sometime in the next four months, I will hold out and think it would be a shrewd move by management, as long as Kane would agree.

So hear me out.

Kane is coming off an injury and many teams won't have cap space.  Kane could come to Buffalo play on the 2nd or 3rd line and 2nd PP, and try and help get his home team to the playoffs. I would rather have Kane than Olofsson.  If the plan is failing miserably and there is no hope for the playoffs, Sabres could still move him to a team at the deadline, and get some future picks.

The revenue from ticket and jersey sales would far outweigh a 1 year $5 million contract.

Let's debate as he does his rehab, until he signs a contract.

 

[MattPie]

I don't think Kane is the player he once was, and the Sabres aren't short on promising forwards. However, if he's a more mature person than he's shown in the past... An SC winner that loves Buffalo wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to have around the locker room.

[Hawerchuk]

Never say never, but I'm gonna say never on this one.

[#freejame]

It’s not just clickbait but it mostly is

[PromoTheRobot]

Magic 8 ball sez...

[mjd1001]

Please no

[Buffalonill]

[That Aud Smell]

Like Quinn, he does play right wing.

And I thought I heard some analytic online person explaining how his underlying metrics suggest that he's not totally washed.

Hmm.

[Weave]

Even if the topic is not new and fresh, the thread is.  So we have that going for us, which is nice.

[PerreaultForever]

I would suggest that if we start the season well, and look like a legit playoff contender, signing Kane around Christmas time would be a shrewd move that makes us really look like a serious contender. Building would go back to sell outs.

Signing Kane before the season would be strange given the injury but the veteran leadership of a proven winner would be good for many of these kids. Kane mentoring Quinn can't be a bad thing imo. Kane made a lot of shall we say "mistakes" when he was young and now as a mature leader he could be good for the team.

But only if HE wants it, and wants to end his career on the home team so to speak. So far I've heard nothing real about him wanting that. I've only heard he wants to be on a cup contender, so I'd expect him to sign with Vegas or Colorado or whoever looks like a real contender in December and whoever fudges their cap with some LTIR to be able to add him of course. 

and now back to our regular scheduled summer idleness.

[Eleven]

We do understand that Quinn and Kane likely will be ready to play around the same time, right?  And that RW is not the team's biggest position of concern?

[In The Buff]

i used to think Kane coming here made sense, it'd even be a good story, but we really simply dont need what he gives. The veteran leadership would be nice, but is Kane really the best choice to provide that, if thats what we're looking for? His defensive play is a liability & the offense he can provide isn't that different from what we currently have. I could be wrong but at this stage in his career i view Kane as a more talented Oloffson, but thats likely where i stand. For the cost benefit of what adding Kane would bring, i think we'd get more value signing to strengthen an area of weakness instead.

[steveoath]

Would be a good redemption story. But not sure it’s a sane plan on the ice. Would he replace Tuch or Quinn(if healthy). He’s not playing a checking role and does he actually defend?

[Eleven]

10 minutes ago, steveoath said:

does he actually defend?

He has lawyers for that.

[nfreeman]

If we get to New Year's and he's all the way recovered and healthy, and willing to sign a 1-year deal, I think he'd be a great addition.  But both of those conditions need to be met.  He was a shell of himself last spring with the Rangers and pretty ineffective.

[GASabresIUFAN]

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

[Doohicksie]

6 hours ago, sweetlou said:

would rather have Kane than Olofsson.

You've finally framed this correctly

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, Eleven said:

We do understand that Quinn and Kane likely will be ready to play around the same time, right?  And that RW is not the team's biggest position of concern?

Yes, but Quinn is also still a pretty young and raw talent and I think bringing him back in slowly would be the right approach rather than just tossing him into the second line after a long and fairly serious injury. Kane, on the other hand is Kane. 

[Kristian]

I don’t see him adding anything to this squad. He’s close to washed-up, and I can’t remember the last time I batted an eye when he had the puck.

[thewookie1]

As I said in a different thread; you sign Kane if we run into injuries in January/February and/or Quinn needs more than those months to recover fully. 
 

Unless his surgery has magically repaired his skating entirely he’s only be a good 3rd line scoring threat at this point. 
 

17 minutes ago, Kristian said:

I don’t see him adding anything to this squad. He’s close to washed-up, and I can’t remember the last time I batted an eye when he had the puck.

He still wowed 2 years ago, last year he was dealing with a serious hip injury. So I wouldn’t consider him washed up; only over the hill at this stage of his career

[MattPie]

15 hours ago, thewookie1 said:

He still wowed 2 years ago, last year he was dealing with a serious hip injury. So I wouldn’t consider him washed up; only over the hill at this stage of his career

Would it be fair to say that Patrick Kane = (Eric Johnson + baggage)? Similar points in their careers, successful in the past. I'm not sure EJ was ever as highly regarded as PK though.

[xzy89c1]

23 hours ago, sweetlou said:

It's just not click bait, but until he signs sometime in the next four months, I will hold out and think it would be a shrewd move by management, as long as Kane would agree.

So hear me out.

Kane is coming off an injury and many teams won't have cap space.  Kane could come to Buffalo play on the 2nd or 3rd line and 2nd PP, and try and help get his home team to the playoffs. I would rather have Kane than Olofsson.  If the plan is failing miserably and there is no hope for the playoffs, Sabres could still move him to a team at the deadline, and get some future picks.

The revenue from ticket and jersey sales would far outweigh a 1 year $5 million contract.

Let's debate as he does his rehab, until he signs a contract.

 

Kanes major value at this point is on PP. He is awful on defense, just does not care and his physical ailments took away his speed and quickness. the question is not kane or olofson it is olofson or one of the younger players. Kane is not a great guy in locker room either. gets pissy when he is not playing enough.

16 hours ago, thewookie1 said:

As I said in a different thread; you sign Kane if we run into injuries in January/February and/or Quinn needs more than those months to recover fully. 
 

Unless his surgery has magically repaired his skating entirely he’s only be a good 3rd line scoring threat at this point. 
 

He still wowed 2 years ago, last year he was dealing with a serious hip injury. So I wouldn’t consider him washed up; only over the hill at this stage of his career

he did not wow, he played a ton on an awful team and put up some stats. He is allergic to defense and not a great teammate. We have no place for him to play. Thank god.

[xzy89c1]

19 hours ago, Eleven said:

He has lawyers for that.

good one. he plays zero defense. never has

37 minutes ago, MattPie said:

Would it be fair to say that Patrick Kane = (Eric Johnson + baggage)? Similar points in their careers, successful in the past. I'm not sure EJ was ever as highly regarded as PK though.

no. terrible comparison.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Why not?

He won't hurt the team.

When he is healed and ready to go sign him for the remainder of the year.  If it goes well sign him for another year.  Then he can retire or whatever.

[mjd1001]

2 hours ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

Why not?

He won't hurt the team.

When he is healed and ready to go sign him for the remainder of the year.  If it goes well sign him for another year.  Then he can retire or whatever.

He very well could hurt the team. First of all, what position is he going to be taking? Is he really going to be THAT much better of a scorer than one of the young guys/wingers?  His production has been dropping over the past couple years, he's going to be 35 years old the next time he skates in an NHL game (with a LOT of miles even for a 35 year old). And he is coming off of a major injury/surgery. Over the past few seasons, he has turned into about a 25 goal per 82 game guy, and now he is a year older with that surgery and major injury so I think there is a good chance he won't even be that 25 goal guy.  So you are getting a guy who would likely be outscored by Victor Olofsson. 

That is his recent offensive production. Defense?  If people think Olofsson is bad, take a look at Kane.  He is next level bad.  Someone posted some advanced stats last year that showed he wasn't good at all. Basic stats show despite all his offensive production, he is a -48 over the last 3 seasons and he hasn't even been a plus 10 more for 7 seasons.  And watch him play.  I am not a coach and I don't know where people should or should not be on the ice but the 10 or so games per year I see him play I watch him and the eye test? it is really really bad in terms of his effort, positioning, and effectiveness of backchecking or winning battles (when that even occurs).

So he won't hurt the team? I disagree with that.  An aging, injured, declining production player who doesn't have the skill nor the ability to play much defense can for sure hurt your team if he takes that spot away from even the youngest of your prospects who could be there.

Oh, and this Sabres team is no longer a team with seemingly endless cap space.  And this is before signing Dahlin or Power. Once those deals are done, cap space will become a decision in any deal. I don't want Kane taking up really any cap space that will make it harder to aquire/fit in anyone else around the trade deadline (or offseason if Kane wants more than a 1 year deal.)

Edited August 24, 2023 by mjd1001