Here's what Dews asked:
My initial answer is: a ton. And I'll tell you why.
Let me preface by saying that I'm going to focus on what Kane CAN do. There's been plenty of talk about what he can't do, but I've always been more focused on what a player can bring to the table as opposed to what he's incapable of doing. That's my inner coach coming out.
Simply put, he's an elite offensive talent, and I don't think there's much question to that. His hands, his vision, his speed, and his offensive IQ make him a potential to score (or, more likely, to set one up) whenever he crosses the blue line.
I haven't seen a player with more offensive skill in a Hawks sweater in the last 15 years. Period. The name that makes me pause at 15 is Roenick, but you may even be able to go as far back as Savard. I didn't see much of Roenick's or Savard's career in Chicago, so I cannot say for sure. I'll let others do that.
But some of the plays Kane's made in his career are just unreal. That backhanded snipe over Luongo in '09, completing a playoff hat trick. The spin-o-rama backhand pass to Hossa. The absolute undressing of Wild goalie Nicklas Backstrom. The sick shootout move he did in Detroit immediately after Datsyuk failed on a similar deke. The simple fact that Kane has the ability to pull off these outstanding moves on the fly should indicate just how talented he is.
He's 23 years old, coming off of a bad season. But one season does not diminish other career accolades. In the Cup year, he played 104 games and had 116 points. Read that again. That's incredible. Also scored 5 points in the 6 games from the Olympics.
He's got some obvious deficiencies, sure. Lack of size, sometimes passes too much, doesn't contribute to defense, etc. ... although I'll say some of his negatives are overstated. And I have a hard time believing his 11-12 numbers weren't somewhat affected by that wrist injury he suffered just before camp. I feel like he's going through what Adam Dunn went through with the Sox last year.
Now, to answer the original question ... if we're talking draft picks, I think he's worth
at least a pair of first-rounders, and probably more if you consider that Paul Gaustad fetched a first-round pick at the deadline last year.
In terms of other players around the league ... I think it's easier to list the players that are in a higher value than he is. Keep in mind that, at the age of 23, his best years could still be ahead of him.
A short list would say that prime-aged stars such as Stamkos, Malkin, Giroux, Crosby, Ovechkin, Kessel, Kovalchuk, Parise, etc. are above Kane in trade value.
I'd say he's above, in terms of value, some NHL stars that are on the wrong side of 30: the Sedins, Datsyuk, Iginla, Elias, Thornton,
I think some younger guys that haven't proven quite as much as Kane has (Nugent-Hopkins, Hall, Seguin, Couturier) are slightly below him in value.
I'd say he's somewhere in the mid-20s in terms of overall trade value, league-wide.
Okay, that's enough of that. Working on Friday nights is boring. Now I'm sure you'll all tell me how wrong I am.