The New York Rangers' acquisition of Vladimir Tarasenko in early February appeared to end speculation regarding what many perceived to be a likely move for Patrick Kane to New York. General manager Chris Drury then went on to address depth. The Rangers brought in Tyler Motte and were reportedly in the market for one final forward for the fourth line.

But gossip quickly spread that Kane would not give up. He reportedly asked Chicago to explore a trade with the Rangers. The cap situation was incredibly tight even with the Arizona Coyotes helping to broker the deal. The Rangers were forced to play with a shortened lineup for a few games to make the math work.

It was a mammoth effort, but the Rangers pulled off the move for Kane on Tuesday, just days before Friday's NHL trade deadline, as ESPN.com's Emily Kaplan reported:

• Rangers trade conditional 2023 second-round pick, fourth-round pick, and Andy Welinski to Chicago Blackhawks in return for Kane (50 percent of his $10.5 million salary retained) and Zech Cooper
• Condition: 2023 second-round pick becomes 2024 or 2025 first-round pick if the Rangers make the 2023 Eastern Conference Final.
• Rangers trade 2025 third-round pick to Arizona Coyotes in return for retaining 25 percent of Kane's salary.

The deadline trades involving Timo Meier to New Jersey and Bo Horvat to the New York Islanders are objectively bigger in terms of on-ice impact. When it comes to the league's optics, a well-known player such as Kane moving to the United States' biggest city beats all of them in terms of marketability.

It's a big addition for the Rangers on the ice and major news for the league on the whole.

Let's break down what this trade means for both New York and Chicago.

New York Rangers

Kane is a future Hall of Famer and arguably the best men's American hockey player of all time. He heads to New York with 1,225 points in 1,161 regular-season games. He won the Hart Trophy in 2015-16 and three Stanley Cups in Chicago, earning the Conn Smythe in 2013.

Now 34, the Buffalo, New York, native is no longer that player. He knows it, and the Rangers know it. He is no longer the driver of possession he once was. He lacks the speed and agility of the past to carry the puck up the ice. Perhaps his hands are not as quick as they once were.

In fact, there is an argument to be made that he is the wrong addition for New York. He has had a tough year in Chicago. The point total (45 in 54 games) looks all right, but the underlying numbers are brutal. Evolving Hockey's model puts him in the fourth percentile among NHL players this season by impact, and that is largely due to his arguably being the worst defensive forward in the league.

Plus, Kane is enduring a hip injury. That may, in part, explain the suboptimal play, but that only raises questions about his ability to hang in an arduous playoff run.

Context is key. Kane's most common linemates this season have been Max Domi and Andreas Athanasiou. Both are respectable players, but each is a third-liner at best. The Blackhawks' blue line might also be the worst in the league.

In a tug of war against the rest of the team's best, he was the only one tugging on the rope.

Emotions also must be accounted for. The Blackhawks sold their top players at discount prices at the 2022 trade deadline and in the summer. Let's just say the organization is not particularly devastated by losses, as general manager Kyle Davidson is pursuing the most radical of rebuilds. Playing for nothing had to have been demoralizing for someone as proud and accomplished as Kane.

Kane was publicly upset about the Rangers' decision to initially pass on him in favor of Tarasenko. He must have taken it personally. With something to prove, he produced seven goals and three assists in the following eight games.

Kane's heading to Broadway to join a Stanley Cup contender and will presumably play on a line with Artemi Panarin, with whom he had lots of chemistry in Chicago. He'll have a chip on his shoulder and a strong desire to prove he can still play at a high level.

Kane has always been a player who steps up in critical moments, and his joining the Rangers as an impending unrestricted free agent will provide a new challenge that he will be hungry to take on.

Given his performance this season and the hip concerns, there are no guarantees this move will work out for New York. But after beginning the season with a horrible situation at right wing, the Rangers will enter the playoffs with Tarasenko, Kane and Kaapo Kakko in the top nine.

The Kane deal is the final touch that clinches their status as a legitimate threat to any of the serious Cup contenders alongside them in the Eastern Conference.

Drury likely intended to spend this final week shopping for one more depth forward. But when one looks at the prices players such as Tanner Jeannot and Ivan Barbashev went for, it's easy to see why Drury felt this offer was too good to pass up.

He managed to make this deal without giving up any of the team's notable prospects. If the Rangers do end up parting with a first-round pick, then it will be a minor consequence of a second straight successful playoff run.

Chicago Blackhawks

Davidson did the best he could. Kane will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and had a full no-trade clause, and all indications are that he was determined to go to the Rangers.

The only leverage at Davidson's disposal was the threat of keeping Kane on principle if the Rangers did not make a decent offer. Such an outcome would have left a franchise legend incensed.

There is a scenario in which Chicago does well in this trade. If the Rangers do make the Eastern Conference Final this season and then struggle in 2024 and 2025, then Chicago may end up with an early-first-round pick.

Otherwise, the return reflects the circumstances. It will be a late-first-round pick in the best-case scenario and a 2023 draft pick around 55th overall if not.

Davidson was beholden to whatever Drury was willing to hand over. It's not much, but it's better than nothing. Depending on the Rangers' finish, the Blackhawks will enter the offseason with six or seven first-round picks as well as six or seven second-round picks over the next three seasons. That's a sizable collection.

Though Jonathan Toews remains, Kane's departure signals the end of an era in Chicago. Now the organization can move on and begin anew.