The Chicago Blackhawks made the right decision not to push to sign Patrick Kane back. Whether the team wanted to or not and Kane wanted to or not, it wouldn’t have worked right the second time around after such a great time in Chicago for all of those years.
Kane is struggling this season, not unlike the Blackhawks, so even though there would’ve been nostalgia to bring back the Chicago legend, it wouldn’t have helped anyone. The Blackhawks did bring in a number of veterans, but neither them nor Kane on the Detroit Red Wings have been able to get much offense going.
The Blackhawks are 31st in the NHL in goals per game, but the Red Wings aren’t that much better at 27th. Kane has not been part of the solution this season in Detroit, having scored just three goals and 10 points in 21 games. While he has missed five games, he is tied for seventh on the team in scoring and hasn’t looked great.
Kane would be tied for sixth in points on the Blackhawks with five other players, so he would be having the same impact as Taylor Hall, Tyler Bertuzzi, Craig Smith, Connor Murphy, and an injured Seth Jones.
The Blackhawks didn’t even need to bring in as many experienced players as they did, never mind if they even considered Kane. They are in a rebuild and can’t expect to turn things around this quickly.
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While Kyle Davidson learned from giving too much opportunity to the young players and they weren’t ready in 2023-24, he noticeably overcorrected for that and even a player like Frank Nazar who has 11 goals and 24 points in 19 AHL games hasn’t seen NHL time yet this season.
Kane is on a one-year, $4 million AAV deal and we have to ask how long he has left. He has accomplished so much in his career and it only seems like his production is going to continue to fall. He is cherished in Chicago, but that’s not what they needed and not what the team needs again.
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