TSN hockey insider Bob McKenzie appeared on TSN 1050 in Toronto on Wednesday afternoon, and offered insight into the summer trade speculation that swirled around Winnipeg Jets forward Evander Kane.
McKenzie reports the Jets were close to trading the young forward to the Philadelphia Flyers at some point this past summer:
I think it’s quiet on the Evander Kane front right now, (but) I believe that the Winnipeg Jets were much more open to the possibility of listening and exploring their options over the course of the summer. In fact, it’s my understanding that the Philadelphia Flyers and Winnipeg Jets had serious talks about Evander Kane. And there were some who felt that it was really close to happening, but that it didn’t come to pass. And whether that was something on the Philadelphia side or something on the Winnipeg side, I don’t know. Only that they were listening.
McKenzie continued by saying he doesn't believe general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff is actively shopping Kane, adding, "in a perfect world, the Winnipeg Jets want Evander Kane to be a happy, productive member of their organization for his whole career, if he’s up for it. But what has to end is all of the ambiguity about whether he’s happy there or not happy there."
For now, Kane is at Jets' training camp and talking about scoring 50 goals; if he accomplishes that feat sooner than later, it would be virtually impossible for Winnipeg to trade him for anything close to equal value. As it stands, the prospect of dealing a 23-year-old 30-goal scorer is quite a dicey proposition.
(Courtesy: Nichols on Hockey)
