Ranking the Best Potential Landing Spots for Winnipeg Jets Wing Evander Kane

There are certain yearly occurrences in the hockey world that everyone can expect.

The story about Alex Ovechkin's plus/minus.

A hit by Zac Rinaldo that makes you wonder if he has the ability to feel empathy.

A rumor about the Arizona/Phoenix Coyotes moving to Seattle/Las Vegas/Quebec City/one of Jupiter's moons.

The one we have currently is the one about Evander Kane and the Winnipeg Jets failing to get along. Kane was a healthy scratch against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the Winnipeg Free Press' Gary Lawless reported that Kane was taken out of the lineup for breaking a team rule by wearing a track suit to a meeting. It's also out there that Kane may be dealing with an injury, per NBC Sports' Bob McKenzie. 

All of that information has created a confluence of lava-hot takes. At the core of all of them is this: Kane is a really good hockey player. 

If the environment in Winnipeg and with the Jets has become toxic, perhaps it's best for everyone that Kane finds a new home via trade. There is without question a strong market for a 23-year-old left wing capable of scoring 20 to 30 goals, although his $5.25 million cap hit through 2017-18 may limit that market slightly.

Where could Kane go? Which teams could use him? And what may it take to land him? Glad you asked, because that's what the next handful of slides will discuss.

The trade: Evander Kane to the Penguins in exchange for Brandon Sutter, Beau Bennett and a 2016 first-round pick.

Why it makes sense: The Penguins are sort of pot committed already, as they gave up their 2015 first-rounder for David Perron earlier this season. They have one pick in the first three rounds for the 2015 draft, so at this point general manager Jim Rutherford may as well chase that flush all the way to the river.

The biggest roadblock isn't draft picks; it's the salary cap. The Penguins already have about $55 million committed to next season with only eight forwards under contract and the need to re-sign either (probably not both) Paul Martin or Christian Ehrhoff. 

Another issue would be what this does to the team's bottom-six forwards, the Achilles' heel the past two postseasons. Is a third line with Nick Spaling, Blake Comeau and Steve Downie good enough?

But a Chris Kunitz/Sidney Crosby/David Perron/Kane/Evgeni Malkin/Patric Hornqvist top six would be a heck of a thing for the near future.

The trade: Evander Kane to the Stars in exchange for Erik Cole, Julius Honka and a 2016 first-round pick.

Why it makes sense: It doesn't make sense is probably what you're thinking. Why would the Dallas Stars, a team scoring the second-most goals in the league (3.14) and allowing the fourth-most goals (3.20) make a deal for a forward? You should be fired is what you're shouting at your computer.

Hear me out. 

The Stars have been quietly much better the past month on defense. They have held opponents to 28 shots or fewer in eight of their past 14 games and four of their past five games. The problem has been goaltending to a larger extent, as Kari Lehtonen's .905 save percentage is 14 points below his 2013-14 numbers. GM Jim Nill could sign prime Nicklas Lidstrom for the rest of the way and it wouldn't matter.

And strangely enough, the Stars have a pretty decent crop of young defensemen, so parting with their 2014 first-round pick isn't the end of the world. Cole's contract expires after this season, and he'll help the Jets now and come off the books this summer.

Nill doesn't shy away from the big trade. He acquired Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza in consecutive offseasons. Maybe adding Kane's contract hamstrings his ability to improve the D in the summer too much to make it worth it, but never rule out Nill when it comes to a potentially big deal.

The trade: Evander Kane to the Predators in exchange for Ryan Ellis, Gabriel Bourque and a third-round pick.

Why it makes sense: The Predators are fifth in the league in scoring (2.98 goals per game) and have Filip Forsberg and Colin Wilson as their top-six left wings, so Kane isn't exactly a natural fit in Nashville. What the Predators do have is a particular set of forwards with the skills to play center, which includes Wilson.

Imagine a scenario where Kane joins the second line, Wilson slots to center with James Neal on his right. Mike Fisher becomes the team's third-line center with Matt Cullen (another potential center) on his left.

This is simply my opinion, but this year's Predators remind me a lot of last year's St. Louis Blues, who had an inexplicably great offense in the regular season, chose not to reinforce it at the deadline, then watched it falter down the stretch and in the playoffs. If the Predators go with what they have and expect Pekka Rinne to carry the day, it will be a short postseason for them as well.

If the Predators trade Ellis, who has been out since early January with a lower-body injury, they still have a formidable defense corps. Shea Weber and Roman Josi are among the elite pairings and will eat all of the tough minutes; Seth Jones and Mattias Ekholm are a solid second grouping, and you can live with Anton Volchenkov and Victor Bartley as the 5-6.

Ellis has a very reasonable $2.5 million cap hit through 2018-19. 

This means Byfuglien likely would be a forward the rest of the way barring injury, something that has decimated the Jets blue line at times. You can never have enough defensemen.

As for Bourque, he'd be a small upgrade on the fourth line and is an RFA next season.

The trade: Evander Kane to the Sabres in exchange for Chris Stewart and a first- or second-round pick in the 2015 draft 

Why it makes sense: With Kane out of the lineup, the Jets have Dustin Byfuglien at right wing, which weakens the defense considerably. By replacing Kane with Stewart, the Jets get a forward who can at least match Kane's production over the rest of the season and allows coach Paul Maurice to use his All-Star defenseman on defense.

Stewart has five goals in 19 career playoff games. If the Jets are to make the playoffs, having that smidgen of experience would be beneficial.

On the Sabres side of it, they don't plan on being bad forever. Stewart is a UFA after the season. The Sabres have two second-round picks in the 2015 draft (and three first-rounders, so perhaps GM Tim Murray would let one go for Kane) and already possess the best prospect pool, according to Hockey's Future.

Why not add a top-six winger for the next three seasons, when things could be turning around in Buffalo during that time? Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel could use a left wing next season.

The trade: Evander Kane to the Ducks in exchange for Rene Bourque, Emerson Etem and a first-round pick.

Why it makes sense: Bourque has value in the playoffs. He has two goals in 24 games this season with the Ducks after putting up zero goals in 13 games with the Canadiens before the trade to Anaheim. But he had eight goals in 17 postseason games in 2014 with the Canadiens, and that could be attractive to the Jets.

One more year at $3.33 million for Bourque probably isn't all that enticing, though, which is why Etem would be included.

Etem, the 29th pick in the 2010 draft, hasn't done all that much at the NHL level. He's spent time in the AHL this season and hasn't played for the Ducks since Dec. 31. Maybe Etem needs a change of scenery just as badly as Kane.

Kane would give the Ducks their first legitimate threat on the left wing since they traded Bobby Ryan two offseasons ago. Coach Bruce Boudreau has used Patrick Maroon and Matt Beleskey as the left wings on his top-two lines for most the season. Maroon and Beleskey have done OK, but adding Kane to a line with Ryan Getzlaf and Perry would give the Ducks a frighteningly good top line and make the team deeper.

If the Ducks are going all-in this season, which they should be, they should take a look at Kane.

All statistics via NHL.com or Stats.Hockeyanalysis.com.