New York Rangers set to re-acquire former superstar after series of unexpected roster moves?

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Hunter Bowman
October 8, 2024 (5:31 PM)

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The New York Rangers have recently made a massive amount of roster moves over the last 24 hours.

The New York Rangers have placed numerous players on long-term injury reserve(LTIR) and injury reserve (IR), along with sending many surprising players to the Hartford Wolfpack.

Per Colin Stephenson, the New York Rangers cap games are in full swing, announcing several roster moves designed to maximize LTIR space. First and foremost, Jimmy Vesey was placed on LTIR and Ryan Lindgren on IR. This opens two skater spots for the time being. Vesey will be out the entire month of October, and Lindgren can return next week, ensuring he will miss at least two games to start the season.

Next, the Rangers have sent all non-waivers players to the AHL on a paper transaction. This includes Adam Edstrom, Matt Rempe, Brett Berard, Victor Mancini, and Will Cuylle. To replace them, the Rangers have recalled Jake Leschyshyn, Anton Blidh, Ben Harpur, and Adam Sykora.

New York Rangers re-acquiring NHL superstar Patrick Kane?

So, with all these moves the main question still stands, could New York Rangers GM Chris Drury actually re-acquire a healthy Patrick Kane for a future Stanley Cup run?

Of course he could, however he would have to find away to clear more space as Kane currently has a $4 million AAV salary cap hit. Just last season Kane managed to tally 47 points in 51 games with the Detroit Red Wings so it's hard to not want him back.

To add to that, the Detroit Red Wings don't seem like they will be making a Stanley Cup run anytime in the near future, it would be in Kane's best interest to request a trade of of Detroit and return to Broadway.

According to NHL Insider Frank Seravelli as he stated on the Daily Faceoff podcast with Jonny Lazarus, that Kane also wanted to do it over again with the Rangers and make it right:

«He felt like when he got to New York and was hurt that he tried to do his best but that he sort of disappointed them,» Seravelli explained. «They didn't say that but he felt like he left something on the table because he wasn't at full strength and i think wanted a chance to try and do that over again to make it right.»

Definitely a tricky situation as on hand, Kane could reunite with Artemi Panarin on the first line and become a force to reckon with, while on the other this could completely jeopardize the chemistry that Panarin, Troecheck and Lafreniere have built over the years.

Regardless of all this, it's ultimately all up to GM Chris Drury and how much he wants to make this happen.