The former Blackhawks star remains a free agent over a month into the regular season as he recovers from a hip resurfacing surgery.

There has been plenty of speculation that Kane could end up with the Florida Panthers as they try to make it back to the Stanley Cup Final. Friedman said he believes Kane has collected a lot of information on the up-and-coming Red Wings, as well. A move to Detroit would mean a reunion for Kane and his former Blackhawks linemate Alex DeBrincat.

However Friedman said it’s been tough to get a clear read on Kane’s intentions.

“Tougher than an escape room to figure out where he’s going,” Friedman said.

Still, Friedman expects a decision soon.

“I do believe he’s down to a couple of teams.”

Most believe the door is closed for Kane to come back to Chicago since they’re at the beginning of a rebuild.

Kane is one of the most accomplished players in Blackhawks history. He ranks second in points scored (1,225), second in assists (779), third in goals (446) and third in games played (1,161). He was a key cog in the team’s three Stanley Cup championships.

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Bears head coach Matt Eberflus declined to offer any kind of insight into Williams’ job status early in the day, and the team’s brief announcement when Williams finally resigned prompted salacious rumors online. Poles addressed those rumors.

“I don’t have many details to add there,” Poles said. “We try to work in truth. I mean, I know there’s a ton of misinformation out there yesterday. We talked about Halas Hall being raided. Completely false. Don’t even know where that came from. Worked with (Bears president) Kevin (Warren) and (Bears chairman) George (McCaskey), all of our leadership to make sure we were handling it the right way, communicating properly.”

Williams released a statement explaining that he resigned because he needed to focus on his health and his family. Williams also said he plans to return to coaching once he has addressed his health.

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The Detroit Red Wings on Sunday announced they had acquired DeBrincat from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for forward Dominik Kubalik, prospect defenseman Donovan Sebrango, a conditional first-round draft pick in 2024 and a fourth-rounder in the same draft.

Detroit also announced it had inked a four-year extension with the 25-year-old winger with an average annual value of $7,875,000. That would make the deal worth $31.5 million, and he’d be the franchise’s second-highest-paid player behind captain Dylan Larkin.

DeBrincat had been drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round of the 2016 draft, going No. 39 overall.

The Michigan native made a solid impact in his debut season in 2017-18, where he recorded 28 goals and 24 assists as he appeared in all 82 games. His Blackhawks arc saw him become an All-Star in 2022 after logging 41 goals (tying a career-high) and 37 assists (a then-career high).

But ahead of the 2022 draft, Chicago dealt DeBrincat to Ottawa for three draft selections, including the No. 7 overall pick. The Blackhawks used the pick on Kevin Korchinski.

With the Senators, DeBrincat played in all 82 games, too, but his goals dwindled to just 27. However, he tallied a career-high 39 assists.

Despite the solid production, he couldn’t help Ottawa end a playoff drought, which extended to six years in 2023.

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Chicago had a season-best, five-game winning streak snapped with a 4-2 loss on Monday night against the Anaheim Ducks. That came hours after the rebuilding Blackhawks traded defenseman Jake McCabe, forward Sam Lafferty and two fifth-round draft picks to the Toronto Maple Leafs for forwards Joey Anderson and Pavel Gogolev, a 2025 first-round pick and a 2026 second-round pick.

That deal was made one day after Chicago sent veteran defenseman Jack Johnson back to Colorado for defenseman Andreas Englund. Meanwhile, star forward Patrick Kane, who began the road trip on Wednesday with two goals and an assist in a dramatic 4-3 comeback victory over the Dallas Stars, has returned home while the New York Rangers play salary-cap gymnastics to try to complete a rumored deal by Friday’s trade deadline.

Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson said he may not be done dealing. Chicago center Max Domi, who has four goals and nine assists over the past six games, also has been rumored to be on the block.

“You’re always kind of talking and bouncing things around with other teams, and we’ll see if anything happens,” Davidson told the team’s website. “But we got a lot of work done in the last 24 hours or so, but still a little bit of a lead-up to the deadline, so we’ll see where things go.”

Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson was asked what the team needs to do to rebound after the winning streak ended.

“You know what, we have a lot of new players right now and (we’re) going to have to find a new rhythm,” Richardson said following the loss in Anaheim. “But these guys have been resilient, even (Monday). They pushed right to the end. I never count this group out, so it would be nice to get a win (Tuesday) and finish off the road trip on a good note and then take it home for a few games.”

Arizona will be the playing the front end of a back-to-back set that concludes with a Wednesday night road game against the Dallas Stars.

The Coyotes had a nine-game point streak (5-0-4) that included wins over the Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets before dropping their past two games, both at home, in blowouts. Arizona fell 6-3 to the Calgary Flames on Wednesday and 6-2 to the Nashville Predators on Sunday.

Arizona hasn’t played star defenseman Jakob Chychrun for the past seven games for “trade-related reasons.” Veteran defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who had a short-handed goal on Sunday for his 300th career point, and forward Nick Schmaltz also have been rumored to be on the block.

“It’s definitely a stressful situation for my family and I,” Gostisbehere said. “Pretty much know that your life is going to change in the next five days or so. The hardest part is the unknown, I think, not knowing where you’re going to go.

“Obviously, we love it here. It’s just part of the game. You’re definitely thinking about it.”

Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said of Gostisbehere, “He in a tough spot right now with the trade deadline. We can feel it in our team right now. They’re professional. They handle themselves the right way, but let’s get to Friday ASAP. … If I could move the trade deadline up to tomorrow, I would.”

The Tuesday game will be the first of two at Mullett Arena for the Blackhawks in a three-week span. Chicago won both games against the Coyotes earlier this season, 2-0 behind 22 saves by Alex Stalock on Jan. 6, and 4-3 on a Caleb Jones overtime goal on Feb. 10.

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Trade rumors intensified over the weekend after the New York Rangers made a flurry of moves to clear cap space. Kane left the team on the road to return home to Chicago.

The only hurdle was the Rangers clearing enough cap space to take on Kane’s salary, and that hurdle will be cleared tonight.

After 4 p.m. CT, the Rangers will have enough cleared cap space to complete a trade for Kane.

Elliottte Friedman reported that things are in motion behind the scenes, like working out the logistics and moving around equipment.

The Rangers are slated to play the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday, and could potentially be Kane’s debut for his new team. He would then make his debut in Madison Square Garden in front of the home fans the following night.

For now, Blackhawks fans await news the trade has been made.

While the Rangers have been active, the Blackhawks made their own flurry of trades in recent days as well. 

General manager Kyle Davidson traded Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty to Toronto Maple Leafs tor a couple players and picks.

The Blackhawks traded Jack Johnson back to Colorado Avalanche.

And in a more minor move, traded Josiah Slavin to the Anaheim Ducks for Hunter Drew.

The Rangers and Blackhawks could wait to make the trade, the deadline is until Friday.

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