Nearing 30, Kane is revitalized and ready
Star forward focused on getting Hawks back to the playoffs
Chicago Blackhawks fans approach Patrick Kane like an old friend because, well, he’s a superstar and that’s what fans of superstars sometimes do.
Some of them cut right to the chase.
“They’ll ask you straight up, ‘Are we going to be better this year?’” Kane said.
And what does he tell them? “I’ll just keep it simple and tell them we’ll be better for sure, which I do truly believe,” he said.
Kane believes it because he looks around the locker-room and spots teammates who, like himself, are dedicated to re-establishing the Hawks as a force in the Western Conference, something that was a given for a decade.
Tell a National Hockey League prognosticator now that the Blackhawks are a playoff team and you’re more likely to get a giggle than a confirmation.
That’s what happens when you not only miss the post-season for the first time in 10 seasons but finish last in your division. It’s what happens when the core players who helped win three Stanley Cups are either done with hockey (Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa), in their 30s (Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Corey Crawford) or struggling to recover from a debilitating injury (Crawford).
Kane doesn’t fall into any of those categories, at least not yet. The boy wonder, who was the NHL’s rookie of the year at 19 and scored a Stanley Cup-winning overtime goal at 22, is on the cusp of turning 30.
But don’t call him an elder statesman, or try to suggest he’s still a kid. Neither of those fit.
“I’m still 29, it’s not like I’m 45,” said Kane, who turns 30 on Nov. 19. “I feel like a mix of both to be honest with you. I feel like I have a lot of experience, I’ve played for a while. I feel like I can connect to the older guys on our team or the guys that have been around awhile, but at the same time I really like hanging out with the young guys.
“I love being with them on the ice or going out to eat with them or just kind of talking about what they’re going through, too. Similar things I went through at that age, as well. So I guess I’m kind of in the middle.”
The way the 2017-18 season ended left a terrible taste in Kane’s mouth but, with the benefit of hindsight, the way it started also troubled him.
The year before, after winning the Central Division and having the best record in the Western Conference, the Hawks scored a total of three goals in an embarrassing four-game sweep by the Nashville Predators.
When preparing for last season, with thoughts of the sweep still in their heads, Kane said there may have been too much emphasis on being ready for the playoffs before they even got there.
“I think we were focused on maybe getting ourselves back to playoffs and see what happens then,” Kane said. “We didn’t maybe focus on training camp or the regular season.”
That won’t be the case this season.
After playing in the world championship in May and being named tournament MVP, Kane took a month off before resuming skating and working out in late June, which is not typical. Kane recalled there some years he didn’t start skating again until September.
“A lot of us trained very hard,” Kane said.
“A lot of us skated together in the summer here in Chicago. Worked on different things (to) just be a little more attentive to the details coming into camp,” he added.
“In the past we’ve kind of used training camp to get ready for the season. I think now a lot of us are ready. We’re just really finetuning things and listening to what the coaches have to say, how we want to play different.”