Goon
You are correct. I definitely carry a bias against Kane so that definitely is a factor in my assessment of him.
My take is that when a GM moves a well liked high profile player like Seguin then generally some dirt is kicked up whether true or not.
In the case of Seguin I think it was clear that the Bs were set down the middle, Seguin was not a fit on the 3rd line, Seguin carried a big cap hit on a cap strapped team in ADDITION to the team being displeased with his latest playoff production. Sure Chiarelli and Seguin admit to some off ice immaturity but that was just PART of the reason and not THE main part.
Kane's situation is different. Winnipeg doesn't have a cap crunch. Winnipeg doesn't have wingers in line who can really replace him (like Bergeron/Krejci situation being ahead of Seguin). He is clearly butting heads in a very public fashion with his coach.
Could Kane come to DC and turn it around? Sure. I'd bet he'd definitely be more comfortable here is the reports of him hating living there are true. Is it a guarantee? No.
Is it worth trading a respected locker room vet brining similar production (Brouwer), a 1st in a deep draft AND a recent 1st rounder unique player like Wilson?
How about Marcus Johansson (who is having a better year than Kane), a 1st in a deep draft AND a recent 1st rounder in Vrana?
Kane carries too much locker room risk. His production has not been good the last 2 years. His attitude is questionable at best. And yes...I don't like him due to these reasons.
Those are some interesting examples, given that Richards and Carter went to a more structured organization and won two Cups, Courtnall was a key part of the Canucks team that made the finals in '94, Dino was a key part of the Red Wings team that made the finals in '95, and Stevens was Stevens. This seems like an excellent argument for picking up a guy like Kane. I think these off the ice issues routinely get overblown and aren't nearly as important on the ice as the media would like us to believe.
Also, WRT Seguin, isn't his success this year coming as a winger?
Zoidberg
I think you miss my point. I feel those players mentioned got unfairly persecuted. They were only guilty in the court of public perception and were not healthy scratched on multiple occassions due to violating team rules.
Also all those players were HIGHLY productive and proven. Kane is not. He's got the 4th worst ES production on his team right now. He has not played particulary well the last couple years.
Carter, Lupul, Richards, Courtnall, Stevens, Dino were all established players with multiple excellent years under their belt.
Also lets be real...
Salary cap issues (in the case of the Flyers) and cheap owner (in the case of the Caps with Stevens and Dino) were big reasons why they were let go. Courtnall requested a trade due to public embarrassment so thats different.
My point was that Kane is in a very different situation.