Top UFA Forward No Longer an Option for the Maple Leafs

Patrick Kane‘s free agency chase in Toronto appears to be over. Despite recent chatter linking the 37-year-old to the Maple Leafs — fueled in part by speculation that Toronto could get creative with a heavily bonus-laden, LTIR-aided contract structure around Max Domi — Kane’s camp has since narrowed his markets to two teams, and Toronto isn’t one of them.

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Blackhawks legend Chris Chelios, who says he’s spoken with Kane directly, put it plainly: “it is down to Buffalo and Chicago. I know that, obviously, because I spoke to him.” That leaves Toronto out of the final conversation, regardless of how the cap math might have worked.

Related: Chelios: Patrick Kane’s Decision Down to Two Teams, Including Surprise

It’s unclear how interested the Leafs actually were in signing Kane. It could have been just speculation, with no real offer behind it. Still, it was an intriguing idea and with all the changes Chayka has made as the new general manager, no one would have been surprised if Kane had wound up with the Leafs this coming season.

It’s likely that he wouldn’t have been brought in purely for scoring. The theory was that he’d be a mentor and trusted presence who could work with Gavin McKenna in his rookie season.

But if Chelios is accurate and it’s down to either Buffalo or Chicago, Toronto will have to pivot to other options. Toronto has been eliminated from a race it was reportedly never that close to winning in the first place. Back at the end of June, TSN’s Chris Johnston had reported, “At this point, it doesn’t seem like it’s something that’s likely to materialize. I’m not sure it’s as good a fit as some people have said.”

As for whom the Leafs will target, with Kane off the board, Eeli Tolvanen is the last primary right-winger available on the market.

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