I will assume two things: Kane ends up in NY, as I am sure he will love it there and NYR have a lot of young talent to throw back at Chicago. However, if Kane wants to be in Calgary, you make it happen. Secondly, the acquisition cost will probably be high, on the sheer fact that the Rangers have a lot of young assets that they can throw away. They will try to land Kane and will try and out-bid anyone, I would think. I am ok with that. Why?
Basically I see two reasons why you get Kane:
1) What if Huberdeau gets injured? The guy that stirs the drink for the Flames being gone makes Lindholm and Toffoli have a more difficult time to score goals, and teams will have an easier time getting their best players to shut-down the Flames' remaining best players. I have always stated that I think you can win with Gaudreau and that core, but there weren't enough pieces to distribute through the lineup to make it hard on teams to match-up their defensive lines against Calgary. Kane becomes that insurance policy of sorts.
2) Huberdeau - Lindholm - Toffoli => Chemistry is really starting to come around, and I think this will be an elite #1 line.
Kane - Kadri - Mangiapane => This will be an elite #1 line also.
Have fun matching up against that. Kane and Huberdeau are both players that can lead their lines. They are the ones that generate offence. They are the ones that make their linemates better. They have shown this time and time again in their respective careers. You aren't just getting Kane - you are getting Kane, and improving an already very good Kadri and very good Mangiapane.
3) Power Play: Overloaded 1st unit PP with Kane, Huberdeau, Lindholm, Kadri and Andersson. Or you can spread it out and have Kane and Huberdeau QB their own units. Do not take a penalty against the Flames.
4) Overloaded 3rd line. Dube I think is going to be a legitimately good 2nd line player this year. I really think he has it in him. Backlund is a legitimate 2nd line center, and is one of the league's best defensive centers at that. Coleman's numbers are better than an average 3rd liner. I think it becomes a bit of an overloaded 3rd line. Together they are faster with a faster transition game, they are more offensive, and they are even more smothering. I like Lewis, and he is a very smart player out there, but Dube at this stage is simply an upgrade.
Once again, I don't think it happens, but that's how I view the addition of Kane. There are only a handful of players in the NHL that can legitimately make any line they are on work as a 1st line - players who have always stirred the drink on their line, and made average offensive linemates earn contracts that they should never have been in line for. Huberdeau and Kane are both like that. Kane also has that track record of being an incredibly strong playoff performer.
SIdenote: I bet that if Treliving had traded Tkachuk for the package that he ended up getting, there is probably a better chance that Gaudreau would have ended up staying (maybe.. who knows). This team would have been ridiculously difficult to match-up against and shut down. Would have needed to move Lucic as well as Monahan, but this team would probably be 'the favourites' for the cup, or at least part of the conversation with Colorado, Tampa and Carolina. Getting Kane gets the Flames to that conversation.
You don't improve your team this much by upgrading a piece somewhere in your top 9, and another depth defencemen. This is how you set yourself up as best as you can to win a cup. No guarantees, and there most certainly have been huge prices paid for complete flops (almost every year), but this is a risk I would want the Flames to take IF it is ever on the table.
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