"He was with the team yesterday, but as of today he's flown back to Chicago just until the situation rectifies itself either way," Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said before the game.
Kane skated Sunday at Chicago's practice facility. The Blackhawks play in Anaheim against the Ducks on Monday (10 p.m. ET; BSSC, NBCSCH, ESPN+, SN NOW).
The 34-year-old forward is in the final season of the eight-year contract he signed with the Blackhawks on July 9, 2014. The contract contains a no-movement clause, so Kane will have to approve any trade prior to the NHL Trade Deadline, which is 3 p.m. ET on March 3.
Kane's agent, Pat Brisson, told Pierre LeBrun of TSN on Saturday that, "based on the current status of Patrick's situation, we collectively felt it was more appropriate to have him not play during this period of reflection."
That statement came after Kane did not practice with the Blackhawks in San Jose on Friday because of what the team said was a maintenance day.
"I think [Kane] feels good," Richardson said Friday. "He had a smile on his face. He's just a little sore."
Speculation of Kane being traded to the New York Rangers has increased since Thursday, when New York announced forwards Vitali Kravtsov and Jake Leschyshyn would be scratched for their 4-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings for roster management reasons. Kravtsov was then traded by the Rangers to the Vancouver Canucks for forward William Lockwood and a seventh-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft on Saturday, when Leschyshyn was again scratched in a 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals.
Kane has 45 points (16 goals, 29 assists) in 54 games this season, second on the Blackhawks to forward Max Domi, who has 46 points (17 goals, 29 assists) in 57 games. Kane has 10 points (seven goals, three assists) in his past three games.
Selected by the Blackhawks with the No. 1 pick in the 2007 NHL Draft, Kane has 1,225 points (446 goals, 779 assists) in 1,161 regular-season career games. He is second in Blackhawks history in points and assists, behind Stan Mikita (1,467 points, 926 assists), third in goals, behind Bobby Hull (604) and Mikita (541), and third in games played, behind Mikita (1,396) and Duncan Keith (1,192).
Kane won the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2010, 2013 and 2015. He also won the Calder Trophy as the League's rookie of the year in 2007-08, the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs in 2012-13, and in 2015-16, he won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP, the Ted Lindsay Award as the most outstanding player as voted by members of the NHL Players' Association, and the Art Ross Trophy as the League's leading scorer.
Chicago (21-32-5), which is 30th in the NHL, will likely miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third straight season and for the fifth time in six seasons.
