Patrick Kane hip surgery opens door to possible New York Rangers return
New York Rangers forward Patrick Kane will be out 4-6 months after hip resurfacing surgery.
The 34 year-old forward admitted to not being 100% after the Rangers were eliminated in their fist round series against the New Jersey Devils. “I commend Jim Ramsay and the staff on getting me as ready as possible for the playoffs,” Kane said on breakup day.
Kane’s agent, Pat Brisson told Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman about the procedure and noted that his client “wants to play for a long time.”
He’s scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Patrick Kane out 4-6 months
The Blueshirts went through serious cap gymnastics to acquire Kane by the NHL Trade Deadline. Unfortunately, they got a less than full strength superstar leading to a first round exit.
Fortunately, GM Chris Drury did not have to cough up too much to get Kane on Broadway since he would only waive his full no move clause for them. New York sent defenseman Andy Welinski, a conditional second round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and a fourth round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft to the Chicago Blackhawks for Kane and AHL defenseman Cooper Zech.
Kane registered 57 points in 73 games this past season playing with a bad hip. In 19 games with the Rangers, he scored 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists) and added 6 points (1 goal, 5 assists) in 7 postseason matches.
Heading into this offseason, it was very unlikely that the Rangers would be able to sign Kane with only under $12 million in cap space. However, this now opens the possibility for a late signing and use of LTIR if both sides are interested.
“Of course I would love to be back,” Kane said in May. “If I could feel better with this team and this opportunity, I’d love that chance. I know they have young guys to sign and other priorities, but it was an amazing experience for me.”
This could be a situation to monitor very closely this upcoming season.
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