The Madison Square Garden marquee is full of big names, including Kane, Panarin, Zibanejad, Shesterkin, Tarasenko, Fox, and Kreider.
The hard part now is making room for Stanley, which will be determined between now and the middle of June.
James Dolan’s spotlights will be on future Hall of Famer Patrick Kane, who will make his debut against Ottawa.
Coach Gerard Gallant said Kane is a great addition to the hockey team, a great competitor, a Stanley Cup champion, and exactly what they needed.
Gallant plans to deploy Kane on a line with his former Chicago teammate, Artemi Panarin, and Vincent Trocheck.
The other top-six unit will feature Mika Zibanejad centering Chris Kreider and Tarasenko.
The Kid Line of Filip Chytil between Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere is next, while Barclay Goodrow, Jimmy Vesey, and Tyler Motte make up the fourth line.
Zibanejad said adding Kane at the deadline is a confidence boost for the team and adds excitement. The pressure will always be there no matter what.
Kane was having the least productive season of his 16-year career, toiling for a stripped-down Blackhawks team that is in contention for the NHL’s worst record and most favourable odds for draft-lottery prize Connor Bedard.
Kane had recorded just nine goals and 26 assists through 50 games but perked up as the trade deadline approached.
He piled up seven goals and three assists in his final four games before the Blackhawks shut him down.
The Rangers entered Wednesday 1-3-1 in their previous five games and were dealing with an injury to Ryan Lindgren and the beginning of a three-game suspension for K’Andre Miller.
The Rangers received a jolt at the deadline last season, adding middle-six forwards Frank Vatrano and Andrew Copp to top-six roles, among other moves.
This time, general manager Chris Drury has added premium firepower in Tarasenko and now Kane.
Comparing the two deadlines, Gallant said it feels different, but they had some great results last year with the players they added. They were not superstar names, but they fit into the team well and played hard, leading to success in the playoffs.
The team scored five goals in the final four games, all losses. This time, Gallant believes they made the team a lot deeper with a lot of skill and talent, but they still have to perform on the ice.
»James Dolan’s spotlights will be on future Hall of Famer Patrick Kane«
↯↯↯Read More On The Topic On TDPel Media ↯↯↯