CHICAGO — Patrick Kane chuckled when he heard the number, smiled then shook his head. Was he going to take the bait? He clearly wanted to. Did he really think there are at least 34 better players than him in the NHL, as The Athletic’s player tiers claimed? Perhaps as many as 41?
Another chuckle.
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“Obviously, I’d like to be higher,” he said. “I don’t know, I think I’m better than that.”
Kane has been such a fixture among the world’s elite for so long that it becomes easy to take him for granted. He’s undoubtedly the best and most accomplished U.S.-born player the game’s ever seen, though Auston Matthews will be coming for that title in the years to come. He might already be the greatest player in Blackhawks history, with all due respect to Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull, whose numbers still dwarf Kane’s.
And for the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately crowd that’s long moved past the three championships, the Hart Trophy, the Conn Smythe and the Calder, only Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have more points over the last four seasons than Kane, whose points-per-game total is identical to Matthews’ 1.24 in that span. Kane has played the last four seasons at a 101-point pace over an 82-game schedule.
This is still one of the world’s truly elite offensive weapons. Seemingly every skilled player that’s come into the league over the last decade reveres him, and grew up watching him and idolizing him and mimicking him on the ice, in the street, in the basement. Anecdotally, and as documented in player polls year after year, it’s clear that few rival Kane in the eyes of his peers.
“He’s as good as they get,” said new teammate Jack Johnson, who’s known Kane and played alongside him for Team USA dating back to their teen years.
Patrick Kane is the best stickhandler and second-best passer in the league, according to the NHLPA player poll: https://t.co/llih9rtsZ0
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) June 17, 2021
So 35th? As low as 42nd? Stuck in something called Tier 3B? (Players weren’t ranked within each tier.) Really? Even factoring in the one-way nature of his game, forty-second?
Maybe it’s as simple as out of sight, out of mind. After all, when was the last time Kane truly was in the spotlight?
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“I guess it comes with the territory of not playing in the playoffs, not being on winning teams, and probably not playing as well as I can,” Kane said with a shrug. “It’s kind of easy to lose track of players that aren’t on good teams, right? But I think over the last four years, I’ve been around a 100-point pace. It’s like …”
And with that, Kane’s eyebrows and shoulders went up in unison in the universal gesture of “what more do you want from me?”
Is that it? Do people just take Kane for granted now? Is he discounted because he’s approaching his 34th birthday, and there’s an assumption that Father Time always wins? Because Kane’s last season was one of his best, and his numbers bear out the idea that he’s only getting better with age. Is it because his underlying metrics tend to underwhelm? Because Kane’s actual goals-for-per-60 minutes has been higher than his expected goals-for-per-60 every year of his career. That ability to outperform the metrics is a clear sign of his crazy-high skill level and remarkable, repeatable brilliance, even if the subpar possession numbers underscore the one-way nature of his game.
Or do his skeptics simply view his remarkable point totals as mere empty calories, meaningless stat-padding in blowout losses and pressure-free games?
Perhaps. But perhaps there’s an alternate way of looking at that. Kane, despite being on lousy teams that never have a positive share of the puck or the scoring chances, despite going through linemates like most players go through rolls of tape, continues to produce at a staggering rate. Whether it’s with Jonathan Toews or Michal Handzus or Brad Richards or Marcus Kruger or Andrew Shaw or Artem Anisimov or Nick Schmaltz or Kirby Dach or Dylan Strome, Kane just keeps producing. No consistency, no help, no problem.
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Even a casual fan can see that. New Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said that he was with a friend last week who knew Kane’s name but didn’t know much about him.
“When I pulled up his HockeyDB stats, he realized how consistent he is as a point-getter,” Richardson said. “Whether it’s a Stanley Cup-winning team or a team that doesn’t make the playoffs, he’s pretty much the one constant you have over the last how many years he’s played here. It’s a long time to be that consistent. There’s not a lot of players that can do that.”
That plug-and-play adaptability dates back to his second season, way back in 2008-09, when Joel Quenneville started giving him extra shifts with the fourth line throughout the game. Kane said those would often end up being his best shifts — hardworking players made him work harder, and being the only offensive weapon on a line made him take charge on the ice. Ever since, he’s believed that he can turn any line into a scoring line.
“I always pride myself on being a guy that should be able to produce no matter who I’m out there with,” Kane said.
Lord knows it’s a skill he’s needed in his career. Once Quenneville decided in 2011 that the Blackhawks were more dangerous with Toews and Kane on separate lines, Kane spent years getting the “second-line” assignment, often given the task of stretching the Blackhawks’ depth by turning schlubs into stars. Then ever since he took over as the real No. 1 on the team, he’s had to sit and watch as every kindred spirit that walks into his life and onto his line gets traded away. Artemi Panarin, his hockey soul mate, lasted just two years. Kane then poured his energy and his summers into making Schmaltz the center of his dreams. Barely a year in, Schmaltz was gone. In stepped Alex DeBrincat, a BFF on and off the ice. Out went Alex DeBrincat this summer. Max Domi was brought in this season largely to be flipped at the trade deadline, so Kane — who’s already hyping up Domi’s speed down the middle and the possibilities it can open for him — should know not to get too attached.
Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat. (Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images)Kane falls in love fast. But he’s learned to get over the breakups just as quickly. He’s had no choice.
“It seemed like everyone I liked playing with or try to do something with over the summer ends up going to a different team,” Kane said with a wry grin. “It happened once with Panarin and you’re like, ‘There’s no way it can happen again with DeBrincat.’”
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Another rueful laugh. Another what-can-you-do shrug.
Trying to rekindle the flame with a new linemate so often can be exhausting. But Kane likes the challenge, even if he wishes he didn’t have to do it so often.
“It could be frustrating at first,” he said. “But I think most of the times, over my career, we’ve figured it out. Whether it’s right away, like Panarin, or takes some time, like with Brad Richards. I didn’t even play with DeBrincat much when he was younger, either, so that took time, too. So, for me, it doesn’t really matter who I’m out there with. We’ll figure it out.”
For sure, Kane will get his points, even without DeBrincat and Strome, with whom he had such crackling chemistry. History has shown us that. Whether it’s Domi or Toews or Tommy Hawk lining up to his left, Kane will be a point-a-game-or-better player, no matter how bad things get in Chicago this season. (For the record, Kane thinks these Blackhawks are more talented and capable than anyone’s giving them credit for.)
Kane has dabbled on either side of the playmaker/scorer demarcation line, entering the league as a pass-first guy, then becoming a lethal finisher in his late-20s before deferring to DeBrincat as his trigger-man the last couple of seasons. With so few proven scorers left in the lineup, look for Kane to start firing away again.
“I’d like to score more,” he said. “I think I can do that. You play with certain guys, guys like DeBrincat, and you tend to play off other guys’ strengths and make them your own. Same with Strome. He was more of a playmaker, but he seemed to be more of a scorer when he was playing with Alex and me. This year, I think I can score more myself.”
Will that be enough to move him back up the charts and into the elite of the elite? Should his defensive demerits be offset a bit by his uncanny ability to work with anything, to succeed with anyone? Or are there really at least 34 better all-around players in the ever-deepening NHL than Kane, third among active players in career points (1,180), trailing only Alex Ovechkin (1,410) and Sidney Crosby (1,409)?
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Kane demurred, never truly taking the bait. But the glint in his eye and the smirk on his face made it clear he’ll let his play do the talking.
“You’re always trying to prove yourself, every year,” he said. “This is my job, my job is to produce and score points, and you’re always trying to be at the top of your job. You’re always checking out the best players in the world, seeing what they’re doing, seeing how they’re doing it, taking some things here and there and trying to add it to your game. You’re never satisfied.”
(Top photo of Patrick Kane: Christopher Hanewinckel / USA Today)
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