Patrick Kane is making things very interesting heading toward the March 3 NHL trade deadline.
The Chicago Blackhawks star needed just over half of Sunday's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs to complete a hat trick.
The third goal was confirmed after a video review as Kane shot the puck from behind the net off Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov. It originally was called no goal, but the replay determined the puck just crossed the line, giving the Blackhawks a 3-1 lead in the second period.
Kane, 34, now has five goals in two games following a four-game point drought.
A nagging injury has bothered Kane this year, but the Buffalo native has insisted reports of the seriousness of it have been "overblown." He now has 14 goals and 26 assists for 40 points in 52 games.
Kane is a prime candidate to be dealt prior to the deadline by the rebuilding Blackhawks -- if he wants to be moved.
A pending unrestricted free agent this summer, Kane has a no-trade clause -- so he can decide what he wants to do.
Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson said earlier Sunday he and Kane’s agent, Pat Brisson, are in constant communication and that he has not given his star winger a deadline to make up his mind.
In the time Kane has used to determine what’s next, the New York Rangers instead acquired winger Vladimir Tarasenko from the St. Louis Blues.
Kane expressed publicly that he wasn’t thrilled by the trade. He wanted the option to reunite with pal Artemi Panarin and chase a fourth title.
Kane's hat trick came on the same day co-star Jonathan Toews, also a pending UFA, announced he is still trying to recover from long COVID-19 and chronic immune response syndrome
Toews holds an expiring contract and a full no-movement clause, but had he chosen to waive it at full health, he would most certainly have suitors.
“We’re not thinking about that. We’re trying to help him get back to full strength, and that's totally secondary,” Davidson said.
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