from Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province,

Make a play for Kane, and many believe he can’t and won’t change his off-ice demeanour. At one point Monday, a TSN 1040 poll showed 56 per cent of 700 respondents didn’t want the Canucks to make a trade pitch. Then again, make a play and others will point to an exciting 30-goal winger with a palatable contract of two more years at a $5.2-million-US annual cap hit ($6 million in actual salary). The Canucks have also had past interest in Kane.

Canucks general manager Jim Benning wants to add a proven scorer with grit to take the pressure off Sven Baertschi. With $3.4 million in cap space, there are safer and cheaper routes to travel in free agency, but the Canucks need to take a hard look at travelling the bold road. Trying to win and getting younger at the same time is a conundrum. For everything Kane has done wrong off the ice, he could be the right answer on it. He could help fill those empty Rogers Arena seats, and help propel the Canucks back to the playoffs.

Kane is better than the 20 goals he had in 65 games last season, in 21 minutes of average ice time, because he was shut down with an upper-body injury in March. He has imposing speed and his 6-2, 204-pound frame allows him to drive wide around defenders and unleash a good shot. If he develops a better net presence, and a better two-way game because he was a minus-14, another 30-goal season like the one he had in 2011-12 with Winnipeg should be attainable.

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