After the first few days of free agency came and went it was status quo for the Islanders; aside from extending star netminder Ilya Sorokin and bringing back UFA’s Scott Mayfield, Pierre Engvall and Semyon Varlamov, Isles GM Lou Lamoriello did not bring in any free agents from the outside. Other than minor depth signings in Julien Gauthier, Karson Kuhlman and Brian Pinho, Lou was unable to help bolster the line-up of the team that finished in the WC1 spot last season with 93pts. However, there is one major UFA left on the market in the form of Patrick Kane.
Kane, 34, underwent successful hip resurfacing surgery early in June and sat out the free agent frenzy as he recovers. The sure fire future Hall of Famer was reported to be facing a 4-6 month recovery time period and was in no rush to make a decision on his next stop. Since the news of his surgery, there has not been much updates on his status other than he is rehabilitating and likely will not sign a contract until he’s closer to returning to action, forecasted to be in the November-December time frame. Other than health, the reasoning for this is Kane can assess where interested teams are in the standings before he commits to signing a contract as the veteran is going to make sure he lands on a playoff bound team.
This is where the Islanders come into play. It’s been widely speculated that Kane prefers to player closer to his Buffalo home as this enables his Dad to attend home games, something that was a lot easier once he was traded to the cross town rival New York Rangers prior to the 2023 Trade Deadline. If the Islanders get off to a good start and position themselves in a good spot it’s certainly possible that Kane considers trading in Ranger blue for the Islander shade of Blue, after all he is a big fan of Islanders center Matt Barzal, saying to the Athletic in February of 2022:
"The first thing that comes to mind is just Barzal and the way he’s able to — it’s hard to explain, but he shifts his weight, and when he does it, he’s able to keep his speed. Most guys, if you’re shifting your weight, you’re probably slowing down or making some kind of turn. But he’s able to keep his speed even when he’s gliding and shifting his weight. I think he’s just so strong on his edges.”
The admiration goes both ways, as the Islander star center has admired Kane since before he entered the NHL. A forward line of Kane-Horvat-Barzal would be tough trio to contain for teams, if Coach Lane Lambert decided to go that route.
As long as the Islanders get off to a good start there's a chance he's presented with that option and Showtime goes from Broadway to Belmont.
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