Trade winds blowing for Blackhawks Top names not going anywhere, but could Kane have his cake and eat it too next year?

Amid all the trade speculation over the past few days at least we know one thing for sure: Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Seth Jones will not be dealt by the Blackhawks by Monday's 2 p.m. deadline.

Pat Brisson - the super agent who represents all three players - told Elliotte Friedman as much Saturday.

But, really, that news shouldn't come as a shock.

Start with Toews, the Hawks' captain who sat out the 2020-21 campaign and has 8 goals and 17 assists in 52 games this season. Not only would Toews have to waive his no movement clause, he'd likely provide only a shortlist of teams he'd be willing to go to. Then, another team's GM would have eat at least $5.25 million of Toews' cap hit in 2022-23 while giving up a prospect or two, and/or a draft pick or two.

All for someone who still plays a solid 200-foot game but isn't performing up to his lofty standards.

Kane's situation is much murkier.

If he wants to win another Stanley Cup, his best option is to waive his NMC and allow GM Kyle Davidson to move him to a contender. If he's more interested in becoming the Hawks' all-time points leader then he'd sign an extension.

But could Kane - whose deal expires after next season - have his cake and eat it too?

What if Kane waives the NMC and gets moved near next year's deadline in exchange for prospects and draft picks? Then, after possibly winning another Cup, he signs something like a four-year deal with the Hawks in the summer of 2023.

This would allow Davidson to throw serious gasoline on the rebuilding project. Make no mistake, this idea is no miracle-drug and won't turn the Hawks into contenders in a year or two.

But with the right prospects and draft picks, who knows? Maybe they're a playoff team in 2025.

As for Jones, who will carry a $9.5 million cap hit from 2022-30, it wouldn't be the strangest thing to see the veteran defenseman dealt at some point. After all, it was Stan Bowman who sent Adam Boqvist and a slew of draft picks to Columbus for Jones.

Still, finding a suitor won't be easy.

Davidson's No. 1 trade chip is goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who could net a first-round pick and/or a prospect. Minnesota is supposedly interested, but doesn't seem willing to part with a first-rounder.

Dominik Kubalik is the Hawks' next best chip. The high-scoring forward could add some spark to a power play and he'd provide plenty of depth scoring in a third-line role.

Ryan Carpenter is a nice depth forward who can play 8-10 minutes and solidify a contender's penalty kill. Calvin de Haan has had a nice season, is a high character guy and boasts 37 games of playoff experience.

It's unlikely but maybe Davidson moves Kirby Dach in a change-of-scenery trade, much like Bowman did when he acquired Dylan Strome from Arizona for Nick Schmaltz.

Speaking of Strome, he has 16 goals and 16 assists in his last 36 games. Davidson would surely make a move if a team overpays, but Strome seems to have cemented himself in Chicago for the time being.

The coming hours will tell us how much turnover hits the Hawks' roster. Then it'll be up to the remaining players to move forward together.

Coach Derek King said his message will be: "We're all here now. Nobody is going anywhere. We have so many games left. ... We need to build on what we started building on ... and we need to compete every night.

"This isn't just, 'I'm safe and I'm gonna play every game.' You've got to earn it. Accountability is still gonna come into affect with these guys."

Moments later, King added: "We have a job to do. The Wirtz family, the Chicago Blackhawks, the fans - I mean we owe them. This is what we're here to do.

"We're here to play hockey and play it to the best of our ability. I'm gonna make sure they know about that after Monday for sure."