More Patrick Kane: Trade could happen as soon as 5pm today

Per Vince Mercogliano, the Patrick Kane trade could happen as soon as 5pm today, which is when the Rangers will have just enough cap space to land him. That means the Rangers would have their “complete roster” for Wednesday’s game in Philadelphia.

Why 5pm?

Simple – cap math for each day is banked at 5pm. So by waiting until 5pm, the Rangers ensure they have today’s cap space banked, which would give them enough space to both trade for Kane, recall Braden Schneider, and send down Ryan Carpenter.

Of course, the Rangers could always wait until 5:01pm tomorrow to announce the trade and Schneider/Carpenter swap, which banks an additional day of cap space while having no impact on the roster for that day’s game. However, the optics of having Kane in Philly in advance is something to consider.

The most realistic scenario is for the Rangers to announce the Kane trade today after 5pm, and then announce the Schneider/Carpenter swap tomorrow after 5pm. There would be no optics issues with announcing the swap late, since they are both Rangers property. Kane, while definitely a Ranger, is technically still with the Blackhawks.

The only thing we do know for sure is we will get some news on the trade today after 5pm.