On Wednesday night, the Red Wings visited the United Center to take on the Blackhawks. It wasn’t the first time he’d been back, but… it was another return of Patrick Kane to the UC. Since he’d been back already, no video montage or anything like that, but it still brings back memories. Is Patrick Kane the greatest US born hockey player of all time? Let’s take a peek.
If we’re going strictly by stats… only 2 guys remain above Patrick on the list. Brett Hull has 1,391 points and Mike Modano has 1,374… next is Patrick Kane at 1,292. Will Kaner continue to play until he breaks this record? Maybe he can get there between this year and next? He had 47 points last year with his 3rd team; so far he has 8 this year. It’s doable. That’ll be sick to see Patrick break the record in another uniform. Sick to my stomach that he’s still not wearing the Indian Head, yet “sick” because I’d be happy for him. Now that he’s moved on from Chicago to finish the twilight of his career elsewhere, we’ll always root for him. When you bring a Cup home to a city’s fanbase, let alone 3 CUPS… he’ll always be a Chicago legend. Do we feel like he’s the best Blackhawks player of all time?
Well, if we’re going strictly by stats… Mr. Stan Mikita remains over 200 points clear of Patrick. Patrick has already past the Golden Jet and Savoir Faire. Both Mikita and Hull have statues outside the United Center. Savard has zero cups on the Hawks next to his resume; he did win a Cup with the Canadiens. Both Hull and Mikita were on that 1961 Stanley Cup winning Hawks’ team, the last one before the 2010s. When you talk about 3 Cups on your resume, and you’re one of/if not THE best player on that team, we can certainly argue that Kaner is #1. If we’re talking about Cups, he already has more than Brett Hull (2) and Mike Modano (1), so… is he already the greatest US born hockey player? You can certainly make that argument.
88 was scoreless on this return trip back to Chicago; Brinksy Cat did light the lamp. Still, having him back in our building is special; if only I could have watched it… Yes, the Chicago Sports Network vs Comcast/Xfinity battle is still ongoing, and we the fans, continue to suffer; I’ve been able to watch only 1 Blackhawks game thus far. Maybe I wouldn’t have missed this 4-1 loss to Detroit, but damn… I’d like a choice; I guess I could buy an antenna and rig it up… or head to a bar that shows it… or listen on the radio… still, why should I have to? Anyways, we’ll be keeping an eye on Kane until he hangs up the skates. We’ll remember the 3 Cup teams; we’ll talk about how the greatest US born hockey player wore the Blackhawks sweater for his best years. Yes, when it’s all said and done, 88 will be hanging in the rafters; there’s no doubt about that.
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