PEAK PATRICK
AT 32, CHICAGO SUPERSTAR PATRICK KANE IS ENJOYING THE BEST SEASON OF HIS ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER...AND THE HOBBY IS TAKING NOTICE.
Here’s the thing about Patrick Kane: Fourteen seasons into a career that has him on track for the Hockey Hall of Fame, he’s still doing things that surprise us. Like leading the decimated Chicago Blackhawks in an unlikely bid for the playoffs. Like challenging for the NHL scoring lead and making himself a favorite for the Hart Trophy.
Or, you know, like posting an hourlong, meditation-style video of himself counting to 1,000 as a gag ahead of playing in his 1,000th NHL game. Literally. Just counting to 1,000. Okay, when he got to 400 more than 20 minutes in, Kane added this gem of inspiration: “Visualize your goals. You don’t need over 400 of them. I’ve taken care of that for both of us. You just need one. One that is worthy of your time. Relax and visualize yourself achieving that goal.”
Classic.
“You’re looking at it at first like, ‘What am I doing here?’” Kane said of the video, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “But from what I hear, it seems like it got a pretty good reaction, so it’s fun to do stuff like that sometimes.”
Seems like the 32-year-old winger is having fun with pretty much everything these days. Winning has a lot to do with that.
A er losing Jonathan Toews and Kirby Dach to long-term injuries, and Cup-era stalwarts Corey Crawford and Brent Seabrook to retirement, the Hawks this season were expected to serve as cannon fodder for the deep and dangerous Central Division. Instead, the team has emerged as one of 2021’s biggest surprises. And a er a thrilling, two-game set with the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning in early March, Chicago sets up as a tough matchup for any team they might face in the postseason.
Kane’s leadership both on and off the ice has been the key to that success. Playing on a line with the revitalized Alex DeBrincat and unheralded rookie Pius Suter, he’s been piling up points. With 41 through his first 29 contests, he’s racking them up at a rate of 1.41 points per game – the highest output of his legendary career.
Kane was circumspect about his early-season dominance.
“You just want to keep getting better and keep trying to help the team as best you can,” he said, “For me, that’s getting the puck as much as possible and creating plays and try to create some scoring chances, so I try to just keep improving on that.”
Hard to imagine improving on what the Buffalo native has accomplished to this point. He’s delivered every single day since being selected with the top pick of the 2007 dra .
Kane’s legacy through his first 14 seasons: ree Stanley Cups, one Conn Smythe Trophy, one Hart Trophy, one Art Ross Trophy, and an average of better than a point per game through his first 1,000 contests.
“Patty Kane is everything you love about hockey,” said the NHL Network’s Kevin Weekes. “Just when you think he’s done it all, he does something else.”
Looking back, it’s no exaggeration to say that Kane helped bring hockey, and the hockey hobby, back from the dead in Chicago.
“When I was growing up, the Hawks were nowhere,” said Chicago collector Jake Zielinski.“ey weren’t on TV, no one was talking about them. It was all Bulls and (Michael) Jordan and the Bears and the Cubs. No one cared about the Hawks. Eventually they started putting something together when they got (Jonathan) Toews but, you know, as much as I love the guy he’s not exactly charismatic. Kane was different. He was magnetic. He caught everyone’s attention. You’d hear people talking about his goals or some play he made when you were in the (hobby) shops. He made (the Hawks) exciting and then he made them a winner and then all of a sudden Chicago is a hockey town again. You can credit a lot of players with contributing to their success, but the excitement? It’s all thanks to Kane.”
Kane cultivated an immediate collector base with a 21-goal, 72-point rookie season that culminated in the 2008 Calder Trophy. His key RCs, including the 2007-08 Upper Deck Young Guns #210, e Cup #185 and Upper Deck Ice #221, were immediate Hot List favorites, but it was a er he helped lead Chicago to the Cup in 2010 – the city’s first in 50 years – that he established himself as a national superstar.
Today, Kane’s cards rank among the hottest of any veteran player on the market.
“Anything interesting of his seems to be moving above book,” Zielinski says. “He has lots of interesting inserts and parallels (with limited print runs) where there’s not enough to go around and that’s driving demand. His early graded stuff is bonkers and there’s always demand for his patch cards. e Hawks logo makes for some beautiful patches (and serious collectors) are willing to pay a big premium for anything with five or six colors.
“I think people are starting to put his career into perspective and they’re understanding just how great he’s been.”
It’s not just collectors taking notice. Even Kane’s teammates are in awe of what he’s achieved.
“It’s amazing the career he’s already had,” center Ryan Carpenter said. “It’s nice to have that kind of veteran leadership, too. He just goes out there and leads by example. He comes to play every night.”
at consistency is paying off with a series of milestones this season. Along with playing in his 1,000th game, Kane also reached the 400-goal mark with a tally against the Red Wings on March 3, becoming the 100th NHL player to reach 400 goals and the fourth Blackhawk, joining Hall of Famers Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita, and local legend Steve Larmer.
Kane also became the fi h U.S.-born player in NHL history to score his 400th regular-season goal at age 32 or younger, joining Pat LaFontaine, Jeremy Roenick, Keith Tkachuk, and Mike Modano.
ose names are significant. ey’re the ones you’ll hear, along with Chris Chelios, whenever there’s a debate over the greatest American ever. at’s the company Kane is keeping. For now, anyway. When all is said and done, Kane could stack up as not just the greatest Blackhawk of all-time, but the greatest American ever to play the game.
“To me, he’s already the greatest American player,” said NBCSN’s Dominic Moore. “He’s inspired a generation of players like Auston Matthews and Jack Hughes. ey grew up watching him, wanting to emulate his moves. Patrick Kane was my favorite player to watch during my career. His style, his creativity, it’s an inspiring thing. at, to me, is his legacy.”
Kane appreciates the significance of what he’s accomplished to this point, but he’s not resting on his laurels.
“I think the big thing, once you start reaching these type of milestones, it kind of leaves you wanting more,” he said.
“It’s nice to achieve them. It probably means I played well, but you want to keep getting better and help the team as best as you can.”
While Kane still can build on his already illustrious legacy with the Blackhawks, he’s enjoying the moment. His home life with girlfriend Amanda and son, Patrick Timothy Kane III, seems to have both calmed him and sharpened his focus.
“With Patty Boy in my life now … it puts life in perspective, too,” he said. “Especially a er a long road trip, to come back and see him and it’s so amazing how he can just smile and make you so happy.”
Kane’s also enjoying learning from some of the younger players on his team.
“ere’s a lot of things that they do in their games that I can see what works and try to improve on my game, too,” Kane said. “So I think it’s a good group right now for sure.”
Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton pointed to two of those young players, DeBrincat and Suter, for playing key roles in Kane’s resurgence.
“Kaner’s easy to play with because he makes so many plays,” he said. “He’s so clean, he rarely turns the puck over, he does a lot of things . ... But he’s also hard to play with because he demands the puck and there’s a high level of expectation that you’re going to execute because he can.
“ey always have chemistry. ey know how to find each other. Suter’s been a really nice fit with them.”
is season proves that Kane still has plenty of good hockey le in him. Meditation videos aside, you don’t want to sleep on him