The New York Rangers went through salary cap hell in order to acquire Patrick Kane at the trade deadline. Once it became clear he would only waive his full no-move clause for Broadway, they simply had to get the deal done.
In order to fit him under the salary cap, the Rangers went into games without a full a lineup for a week and were forced to do so when injuries hit afterwards.
The Blueshirts went 11-5-3 with the savvy veteran in the lineup, but that’s not why GM Chris Drury went out and traded for him.