Insider Adds 2 Western Conf. Teams To Patrick Kane’s Serious Suitors

As Patrick Kane edges ever-closer to deciding on a free agent destination, most of the talk thus far has been centered around teams in the Eastern Conference, with the likes of the New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers and possibly even the Toronto Maple Leafs having been mentioned.

But now comes word from NHL Insider David Pagnotta of The NHL Network and The Fourth Period that Kane is also being pursued by a couple of teams in the West.

Patrick Kane is getting closer to making a decision.@TheFourthPeriod provides an update on 8⃣8⃣.@keithirizarry | #NHLTonight pic.twitter.com/L32mhwiazm
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) November 11, 2023

Pagnotta says that the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche are "of course" also right in the mix. But they, among others, do face a big caveat:

These are teams, some of them, that are going to have to make some types of cap adjustment if they want to bring in Patrick Kane... It looks like it's not just for this season, it might be a multi-year deal.

Both of those teams certainly meet the 'Cup Contender' qualification that Kane seems to have, but the Avs currently have only about $2M in cap space, according to CapFriendly, while the Stars have only about $500K. Others in the mix, like the Rangers, Panthers and Sabres, have more than enough, all with well over $6M in space.

Kane would like to narrow down his options to "two or three teams" over the next week, with the hope of signing "in and around" U.S. Thanksgiving.

The three-time Stanley Cup champ appears to be fully recovered now from the hip resurfacing surgery he had back in June, after finishing his season with the Rangers.

Photo: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports