Besides Kane's dazzling regular season numbers, he contributed to three Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013, and 2015 with 50 goals and 73 assists in 127 playoff games. By age 27, Kane had more game-winning playoff goals, 11, than any player in Blackhawk history.
Already, Kane belongs in the pantheon of superstar athletes in Chicago sports, any team, any era. He is must-see, with or without the puck, able to find lanes only he can detect and score from seemingly impossible situations.
"He's always found a way," remarked father Pat. "As a kid playing basketball, there was a game where he was inbounding the ball. The guy he was supposed to throw it to had his back turned. So Patrick tossed the ball off the guy anyway, took it and shot it in the basket. Basically passed to himself."
Kane shared this night with his second coach, Joel Quenneville, in town with the Florida Panthers. Coach Q won three Cups with the Blackhawks and will join Kane in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
"I was the right guy at the right time," said Quenneville, who was accorded a rousing welcome. "I inherited lots of talented players. Like No. 88."