from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

General manager Chris Drury and his staff left Montreal essentially in the same position as they arrived on Monday other than taking care of the Alexandar Georgiev situation. The Rangers are still in desperate need of a second-line center through either a trade or a free-agent signing.

But maybe that’s not exactly how to frame it.

Perhaps it is more accurate to suggest that Drury’s priority is to create a top-six that can score in the later rounds of the playoffs as his team seeks to take the next — and largest — step of them all in going from contender to champion.

Getting a formidable 2C would seem the most purposeful way to fulfill that objective, but what if instead that would entail getting a powerhouse right wing to play across from Artemi Panarin?

The question I am posing is this: If Drury believes this team is close enough to winning a Cup in 2023 to pay big for a one-year rental, would it make more sense to go as far in as possible for Patrick Kane instead of J.T. Miller?

I started talking about Kane last year and probably won’t stop until the right winger, who has won three Cups with Chicago and is probably Panarin’s all-time favorite linemate, either goes somewhere else or pledges his undying loyalty to the Blackhawks, who are fast on their way to becoming the NHL’s version of the Oakland Athletics.

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