from Bob McKenzie of TSN,

Unquestionably, if the Jets wait until then, there will be more teams in a position to make an offer. That's conventional wisdom. But Kane-ventional wisdom suggests the Jets may pay a penalty for the delay.

Even if the Jets had a healthy and happy Kane in their lineup, they were looking for more depth up front, especially on the wing. Winnipeg had been looking at Toronto's Daniel Winnik and reportedly called Ottawa on Chris Neil, though it's believed Portage and Main is on Neil's list of 15 places he can't be traded to.

Taking Kane out of the lineup for the rest of the season leaves a significant hole. The great misnomer is because Kane was playing on the "third line" he's a "third liner." The 30-goal man's numbers have been in decline for a couple of years now, though many write that off as a by-product of injury. Nevertheless, Kane still logged quality minutes amongst the Jets' forwards this season.

The point is there is some pressure on the Jets, more than ever in their brief history, to make the playoffs. It's been there all year long but the fact Winnipeg has, aside from a recent losing streak, played so well, the post-season expectation has risen, become even more tangible.

Teams interested in Kane now are likely to test Cheveldayoff's resolve and/or patience by offering packages weighed more heavily with here-and-now help than future considerations to see if he bites.

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