{"id":810578,"date":"2026-07-19T17:21:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T17:21:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/810578\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T17:21:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T17:21:18","slug":"nhl-free-agents-2026-rumors-predictions-and-top-players-still-on-the-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/810578\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Free Agents 2026 Rumors, Predictions and Top Players Still on the Market"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">Patrick Kane is a future Hall of Famer looking to continue his NHL career, and according to a new report, he may have narrowed his next team down to two.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">Former NHL star <a class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit MuiLink-root MuiLink-underlineAlways MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__ui__link__medium_strong css-lu48cp\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/thescorechicago\/status\/2077395495765315966\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Chris Chelios<\/a> reported on 104.3 The Score that the 37-year-old has narrowed it down to the Chicago Blackhawks and Buffalo Sabres. <\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">Kane won three Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks and laid the foundation for his incredible career with that organization. In the twilight of his NHL run, it makes sense that he would weigh the option to head back where it all began, with the chance to retire with the team for which he had his greatest success.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">As for Buffalo, Kane grew up in the city. Returning home would also be a fitting conclusion for him. Considering the young core the Sabres have and the success they achieved this past season, wrapping up his career with a legitimate contender and as a locker room leader for the squad would be rewarding.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">Regardless of where he ends up, Kane brings 508 career goals, 892 assists, and a career 11.5 shooting percentage with him. Last season, he scored 57 points for the Detroit Red Wings, proving he can still contribute to a playoff-contending squad.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">While that team fell out of contention late, Kane was still good enough to warrant attention from teams looking to bring his leadership, playoff experience, and on-ice excellence to their organizations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">While a reunion with the Blackhawks would be apropos, Buffalo has been linked to Kane since he hit the free-agent market, with many believing he will return to his hometown to finish out his career.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">Even if Chelios believes he will be a Blackhawk one last time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">Prediction: Kane signs a short-term deal with the Sabres<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Patrick Kane is a future Hall of Famer looking to continue his NHL career, and according to a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":810579,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,575,85],"class_list":["post-810578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=810578"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810578\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/810579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=810578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=810578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=810578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}