Patrick Kane is no longer a Chicago Blackhawk. After all of the awards, Stanley Cup victories, and Blackhawk records broken, Kane is starting a new chapter in his life. After the trade was completed, new information emerged that insinuates that Patrick Kane was prepared to leave Chicago either via trade or in free agency.
If there truly was the frustration between both parties it would be completely understandable. Patrick Kane is a proven winner and is entering the back end of his career. Kane undoubtedly wants to make a run for more Stanley Cups and prior management failed to build the roster for sustained success. Panarin was Kane's favorite teammate to play with and was traded to bring back Brandon Saad.
When Kyle Davidson took over, he was presented with an uphill battle that he would never win. The Blackhawks weren't talented enough to push for a cup, had no high end prospects in Rockford, and were flirting with the upper limit of the salary cap. Davidson decided to go nuclear and strip the team down to its bones to acquire as much draft capital as possible to build sustained success.
Kane was also faced with a tough decision. Kane had to choose between staying through a painful rebuild or leaving the place he called home for his entire career. With Kane waiting to make a decision, his value dropped every day that he was still in a Hawks sweater. It was clear that he wanted to go to the Rangers since there was no chance of a Stanley Cup in the near future for Chicago. This was a no win situation from the start and with both side's frustration brewing, maybe it was best to move on now before a relationship could get any worse.
