Will the Sabres circle back on Patrick Kane in free agency?

Will the Sabres circle back on Patrick Kane in free agency?

are the Sabers going to circle back around on Patrick Kane why I think they will and why I think it actually makes more sense to sign him now than it did last year all that ahead here in the locked on Sabers podcast with jod [Music] bosi you’re locked on Sabers your daily podcast on the Buffalo Sabers part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day and thanks for making lock on Sabers your first listen every day we are free and available wherever you get your podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day today’s episode brought to you by Game Time download the game time app create an account use the code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase terms apply sneaky Joe debiasi lot to get to on today’s show the Stanley Cup Final continues the Florida Panthers took game two and they will take that series lead into Edmonton for a meeting with the Oilers on Thursday night at 8:00 so we got a day off here in between the finals uh they got an anniversary for the finals an interesting question that came up a little bit earlier in wgr that relates to that and I want to get to today some free agent options we’ll start rolling through a few different potential names the Sabers could be in on come July 1st with all their cap space and one name is someone we’ve talked about a lot and have talked not for a few months but someone that the Sabres were in on this season and I expect them to be in on him again and that is Patrick Kane we’ll get to Kane what his season went looked like in Detroit and why it’s a very different situation evaluating him as a free agent now as it was evaluating Kane in October so we’ll get to Kane our first uh free agent option that we’ll talk about before July 1 which is only a few weeks away just after the NHL draft some news from the Sabers today speaking of just after the NHL draft the sabber announcing details for development Camp which will start the first week of July and they kind of couldn’t have made a more anti-an schedule I don’t know that you could have done a worse job at creating sessions so that the sabes could have their fans attend at Harbor center now this is there’s probably a good reason for why they scheduled these days at these times because of maybe player availability or work they would do later in the day or availability of coaches maybe I don’t know what the reason would be but you got some tough times if you’re trying to figure out a way to get down there to see Yuri Kulik or Isaac Roseanne or maybe Zack Benson will attend this year although I probably would guess not he would be eligible uh Devin Levi could attend if he wants Ryan Johnson might have aged out a little bit um Noah osin uh Anton wallberg some of these deeper prospects that you haven’t gotten to see yet on session on Ice sessions Monday July 1st at Harbor center from 2: to 300 PM not the worst you have to get out of work real early but it’s a Monday 2: to 3 p.m. Tuesday July 2nd 9:30 a.m. to 10 10:30 a.m. not easy to get to either Wednesday July 3rd 11:00 a.m. to 12: p.m. middle of the day and then the Fourth of July three Onre tournament on the fourth of July at 9:15 a.m. so no weekend involved whatsoever again there could be availability with Harbor Center too I should have pointed that out as a big reason why these could have been scheduled this way but your three on three tournament 9 15 on July 4th when almost everybody in the world well everybody in the country has plans uh good luck but that’s what you get and I’ll try to make it down there but it’s probably not going to be easy for me and I’m sure it won’t be easy for a lot of people um I bet that three on three tournament will be streamed it often is but we’ll have be covered we’ll keep we’ll keep checking in on development camp and what we’re going to get in a few weeks but that’s not again till July 1st after the NHL draft whoever the Sabers first- round pick uh would obviously be expected to be there as well one other thing I want to get to before we talk about Patrick Kane it is the 25th anniversary this week and next week of the 1999 Stanley Cup finals Sabers and stars Dallas winning on no goal a goal that shouldn’t have counted the um the anniversary for that is next week today’s actually the anniversary I think of game three which was in Buffalo they had 12 shots on goal and lost two to one uh sounds like a Dominic aashik team we got into a little bit of a fun debate on the morning show in wgr this morning about who would win a matchup between you can design you can put any two teams of all time against each other what would the what would happen if you put the 99 Savers against the ‘ 06 Sabers and these are the the two most beloved teams of my lifetime at least of course you could go back to 75 if you want to debate who the best team ever in Sab history is but in my lifetime these are the two teams it’s 06 and it’s 99 99 went to the finals and we were playing around with that so I’m interested from you who you think would win who would win a seven game series between the 506 Savers and the 99 Savers led by Dominic hasik and if if you need rules um that kind of make this a little bit easier to digest uh seven game series if the 99 team is home then it’s dead Puck era rules and if it’s in the 06 Sabers Barn uh then it’s uh then it would be post lockout rules because the one thing about those two teams and this is a Lindy point that you could make is they played very different styles but they played styles that were representative of what the sport looked like at that point in time 99 was dead Puck that was hooking and no penalties and and obstruction and no offense whatsoever that team around Dominic hasik was built to play that way and they went to the finals because of it’ 06 again another Lindy team and this is again a Lindy point where he’ll adapt to what you’ve got and even what the rules are’ 06 they’re calling a million penalties the game’s opened up it’s all about speed and skill and that’s what the 06 team was um maybe a more complete team the 06 team because they also had the blue line they also had the goal tending and they had the offense the 99 team did not have the offense but they did have the defense and they of course had the best [Applause] goenda the 06 Sabers would score they they will not score against Dominic hasik hasik is that good um and he would stand on his head and stop the 06 Sabers uh almost everybody else was saying 06 if the 06 team is healthy and like hasik would steal a game in a seven game series series but they’re a more complete team and they would find a way to it would be like Dallas winning against the Sabres in 99 they would find a way uh to get it done so kind of an interesting debate let me know what you think on it when we come back Patrick Kane as a free free agent Target why it makes more sense to me after seeing his season in Detroit and why I expect the Sabres to be in on it that’s coming back here on the lock on 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Haru 10 million does that seem fair about $10 million is about a rough estimate so that leaves about $13 million left over to spend and that’s if they don’t figure out a way to get out of the Jeff Skinner contract and I came up with an idea the other day that could make sense um for Skinner there are other moves they could make as well if they really wanted to go all in and create a bunch of space but they don’t really need a bunch of space they have enough space for a big free agent signing and then some other good depth signings as well what about Patrick Kane let’s resle on Patrick Kane he will be the number one guy we talk about when it comes to free agency he is our first guy to talk about here on this show Kane we talked about him at the beginning of last season because he was available and the Sabers basically confirmed through Kevin Adams and Don Granado and they have contion to Kane Adams was Kane’s roommate in Kane’s rookie season in Chicago Granado coached Kane for a year and always talks about him as a pro and him as a leader on that Blackhawks teene so they had connections and they talked about those and they talked about wanting Kane they basically confirmed that they wanted him and he chose to go elsewhere I wonder if the start of last season is different if the Sabers start hot last year maybe he actually signs in Buffalo but Detroit got off to a better start and he might have thought well I got a better chance to win here than I do in Buffalo so let me do that takes a one-year deal and now he’s a free agent again if you recall my biggest concern with Kane at the time was he was coming off a hip surgery that you’d have a very hard time finding anybody that has ever come back back from it and performed all of the examples of guys that had that hip surgery that Kane had like Ed Janowski Nicholas Backstrom Ryan Kessler and plenty others they tried to come back and they weren’t able to they weren’t able to come back from it and their careers were derailed and were ended by that surgery Kane to his credit he did it give it to him he he did it he came back from that surgery and he looked like Patrick Kane his numbers look like Patrick Kane so if the Sabers were interested when you had all that risk of not knowing what the injury was going to do to him not knowing what he was going to look like at 35 years old after that surgery with all that risk baked in the Sab still wanted him now and at the time that was within another counter point I made at the time to that was well where he’s dropped off as a player is five on five it’s where I need help where he has not dropped off is the power play So at the time it was well at the least he’s going to come in and he’s going to help my power play and at the time I was wrong we all were wrong on this one I think uh the Sabers power play needed a lot of help I don’t think anyone thought that though in the first month of the season because we were still fresh off the year before where the Sabers were Dynamite on the power play had scored a million goals had no problems offensively on the power play a lot to do with Tage Thompson of course so then it was all right I’ve got the risk of the surgery and I’ve got a guy that helps me on the power play but I don’t really need help on the power play all that much so I was against it the Sabers were not though with all of that they wanted to do it now my concerns have been answered well at least the inj y has been answered and now I’ve got a need for power play help in a big way that I didn’t think the Savers needed back in the fall so and that on top of that Kane was great five on five again was almost a point per game 47 points in 50 games played the advanced numbers like Kane a lot you go to his evolving hockey page and by percentile where was he 70th percentile on offense and actually 51st percentile defensively I think that’s probably a little bit more coincidence um he did have the puck a lot on his stick and that would help that number too but offensively he was awesome and he I this is why I almost would hope if they want to sign Kane they’ll find a way to get skinner off the team because they are both productive offensive players and for their careers Kane last year a little bit uh as an anomaly for those defensive numbers Kane has been a one-dimensional offensive player as has Skinner pretty bad players in their own end I don’t think I want two of those guys I prefer Kane though if if the with the money with standing and contract stuff with standing I like Kane more for this because Skinner is a finisher and is an opportunistic goal scorer he will play off of his centerman he will play off of his linemates and he’ll do great but if you’ve got to put him on a depth line he’s not going to do anything for you and he’s also not a very good power play player he never really has been for his entire career so in that way Skinner is not giving me much more than the opportunistic goal scoring he’s not driving play himself Kane is doing that Kane is putting the puck in the back of the net not as much as Skinner is but he’s driving play he is creating he is carrying the puck he’s got the he’s quarterbacking the power play he Zone entries I think Kane is a much more well at this point in his career not even just their primes because that’s obvious at this point he is a much more well-rounded offensive player than Jeff Skinner is and I would trust him more on a third line secondary scoring line I would trust him more on the top line right now so You’ got to get away out of Skinner but I think Kane is a better player if it was one verse one I’m hesitant to say both should be on the same team though because if you want to be hard to play against if you want to stay if you want to get even better in your own end and be a 200 foot team I just I don’t know that those two players should Coexist on a roster um given what the Sabers are trying to build especially I don’t think those two players should Coexist on the same roster so if it’s one versus the other I think Kane makes a lot of sense he’s a good player right now he was a Hall of Fame player he’s a very good player right now and you have the you have baggage right you have you know getting into trouble in Buffalo way back when and the Blackhawks once told him you’re not allowed to go there anymore and he stopped coming and him living here I mean you you who knows right like that could go very poorly of course but the hockey people that are always around him talk about his leadership talk about the culture he installs and if you want someone like that in the sabers room that’s also productive which is not like any of the leaders they’ve had in the last decade uh then Kane might be your guy for that when we come back what would a cane contract look like and what could come with Kane just want to throw in a little bonus free agent idea of the day that could go with Kane uh that’s when we come back here in the lockdown 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here in the locked on Savers podcast our first free agent idea of the day ahead of July 1st Patrick Kane one that’s been talked about for how when’s the first time Kan to Buffalo was talked it’s been 10 years it’s probably been 10 years since this has really been something that saber fans have wondered I think it could actually finally happen before we get to what Kane’s contract could look like what about it from his perspective because he said no to them eight months ago less than a year ago he said no to them and is there anything he would have seen on the ice in the last eight months that would have convinced him that hey this team’s ready to win if that’s important to him and I think it to some degree probably is uh have they convinced him at all because I don’t think they’ve done anything that would make that happen had does he respect the Lindy hire in this way I mean I don’t know that that makes the Sabers any more likely to sign Kane than Granado would have right like Granado had coached Kane they had a prior relationship and maybe that could have been something that the Sabers used to get it over you know get the get the job finished there um at the same time when Kane is growing up I like Alex tuck as a in Buffalo as a saber fan their head coach is Lindy Ruff so if it’s ever been a dream of his to play for Lindy Ruff he could see this as an opportunity but I’m totally guessing I have no idea what he thinks of Lindy in that way so from Kane’s perspective I don’t I think we have proof now that Hometown isn’t enough just selling him on hey come home help us turn it around at least it hasn’t motivated him enough yet it hasn’t motivated him enough yet to decide to come here maybe it could I think money is the thing you want to get Patrick Kane to sign with the Buffalo Sabers I think you got to overpay him you got to give him money and more important than that even I think you’ve got to give him term at 35 years old told how many teams are and by the way he’ll be 36 one month into the season how many teams are going to be willing to give Kane a three-year contract that’s a lot to stomach 36 37 38 those would be the three seasons you’d be signing up for but I think for the Sabers to really get in the ball game here with Kane that’s what they might have to do because he proved he Pro the one-year deal in Detroit was a pro it deal well he proved it so if he wants term I think he could find it I think he should be able to get it I don’t think anyone would give him more than three no no desperate team would do that and I think two is probably likely for a lot of teams and I bet some of the the higher end teams would be offering one uh Sabres might have to offer him three threeyear deal and if you look at the money that you might have to offer him last year in Detroit the deal Kane signed for as I mentioned was a one-year deal and it was worth 2.75 million if you’re giving him a three-year contract let’s say hypothetically I think you got to up that to at least four and a half I think you probably got to come close to doubling it if you want to get him uh so three-year Deal $4.5 million that’s half of Skinner by the way as I mentioned if you can get out of that Skinner contract it’s the same term as a Skinner contract as well uh that’s the offer I think it probably would take just to have a shot at getting him and the question should of course be is that a good idea and I like the player that I saw in Detroit I do like what I hear about his leadership quality I’ve been yelling from the mountain tops for for months now that if the saber the Sabers need a leadership group or a leader a veteran leader that can also perform because they haven’t had that in a long time someone that is a veteran leader and is good at the same time they haven’t had that they’ve had one or the other good players that aren’t leaders or leaders that stink Kane would suffice both so I like the player I think what it would cost is too rich I think if I’m going to overpay for a free agent I want a guy that’s 5 years younger at least I want a guy that’s seven years younger if I’m going to overpay for a free agent I want someone that’s going to at least give me a little bit of upside for the long term but I’m being a little nitpicky when I say that like I don’t need that if they it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world uh for me if that’s the offer they would make to Kane so that’s a look at him as a free agent other teams that would be interested I saw some quotes out of Chicago the other day about a reunion there and I it doesn’t seem like that’s POS going to happen at all um there are big Market teams the Rangers could Circle back and try to bring them back the Leafs I think are an option for Kane they have cap space for like the first time in a while this summer and I think they have probably different types of players they should bring in but uh I just think you know I for some reason I could see that as a match uh Buffalo though I think will be in the mix I think that Kevin Adams is going to go after him yet again the one player if I could if I could live in the in the in the in the AI world or the the the fairy tale world right now a guy that could come with Kane somewhere even if it’s not here probably wouldn’t be here Jonathan taaz might not be retired we don’t know Jonathan Taz took the year off he had some health problems and the last I read about that it was complications from long covid that he is still dealing with things that he suffered after having covid a couple years ago uh so taaz took the year off and there’s been pretty much full radio Silence from taaz in the last 12 months all you really have is there was an Instagram picture um a few months ago of him surfing and saying that he was doing basically that he was doing really well but that was it there was no more there was no more um there was no more whatever than that um so if you look at his situation he’s not retired he stepped away to focus on his health where’s he at in all of this because hey if I just want to play this out be a this be pretty fun right can kane hey Pat you want to play with him again you want to finish your you guys want to finish your careers together do it here do it home bring him home like when Dwayne Wade brought LeBron to Miami uh knowing these players not that good as good as those guys um do it bring him here because we’re ready to start winning and he’s exactly what we need like you’re going to help us in the top six and on the power play what do the Sabers need right now third line Center that can put the puck in the back of the net is very good defensively and if you could get this bonus someone that’s going to help continue to lead the young players and be a positive force in the locker room I just describ Jonathan tase to a t the reason I’m not going to spend a full episode I think we’ll see how the month goes the reason I’m not going to spend a full episode on Tas is because I don’t really see it being po I don’t man there’s no way he’s coming to Buffalo there is no way he is coming to Buffalo I I am creating this hypothetical where maybe if Kane is so committed to turn his hometown team team around and he wants to go back there he could convince his buddy that he won multiple Stanley Cups with hey come with me they’ll overpay you they have a perfect role for you and let’s go win let’s go turn this ship around let’s go build a culture here before we’re before we hang them up in my hometown I you know that’s my that’s my only way of talking about this idea is you need Kane to sales pitchet to tase and you don’t even know if Kane is going to come so that’s why I’m not going to do a full episode on Tage because other than that hypothetical I just I can’t imagine in a million years Jonathan T is GNA come out of Quasi retirement with all his his health problems and he’s going to come to the 13-year playoff drought Buffalo Sabers can’t see that part happening but kind of fun to think about fun to dream about all right that is going to do it for us today here on the lock down Sabers we’ll talk Chandler Stevenson as a free agent idea if you have a free idea that you’d like us to talk about here on the show and move to the front of the line on some of these options that we’ll be going player by player through uh let me know what you think you can text those in if you are not a texter already join sub text.com lockdowns saers to sign up uh all right that’s gonna do it for us today here on the show talk to you next time here in the lockdown Sabers podcast part of the lockdown podcast Network your team every day

After chasing him in the fall, Sneaky Joe expects the Sabres to go after Patrick Kane in free agency next month. Will Kane sign in Buffalo this time? Joe dives into Kane’s season in Detroit, which answered a lot of the questions that were present with him back in October.

Plus, could Kane bring Jonathan Toews with him to Buffalo???

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