When Patrick Kane was traded to the New York Rangers on Feb. 28, 2023, it didn't just end a golden era of Chicago Blackhawks hockey. Some say it could mark the conclusion of the greatest career in team history.
Kane had 1,225 points (446 goals, 779 assists) in 1,161 games over 15 seasons with the Blackhawks. He is second in their history in points and assists behind Stan Mikita (1,467 points, 926 assists), third in goals behind Bobby Hull (604) and Mikita (541), and third in games played behind Mikita (1,396) and Duncan Keith (1,192). Kane helped Chicago to three Stanley Cup championships (2010, 2013, 2015) and was named as one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players, with Keith and Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, to honor 100 years of NHL Hockey on Jan. 27, 2017 in Los Angeles, two days before to the 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Game.
When Patrick Kane was traded to the New York Rangers on Feb. 28, 2023, it didn't just end a golden era of Chicago Blackhawks hockey. Some say it could mark the conclusion of the greatest career in team history.
Kane had 1,225 points (446 goals, 779 assists) in 1,161 games over 15 seasons with the Blackhawks. He is second in their history in points and assists behind Stan Mikita (1,467 points, 926 assists), third in goals behind Bobby Hull (604) and Mikita (541), and third in games played behind Mikita (1,396) and Duncan Keith (1,192). Kane helped Chicago to three Stanley Cup championships (2010, 2013, 2015) and was named as one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players, with Keith and Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, to honor 100 years of NHL Hockey on Jan. 27, 2017 in Los Angeles, two days before to the 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Game.
Kane didn't allow a lack of size (5-foot-10, 177 pounds) to get in the way of becoming one of the best United States-born players in NHL history. He is one of two Blackhawks skaters (Mikita) with 1,200 NHL points, reaching the milestone in a 5-2 win against the Rangers on Dec. 3, 2022.
The Blackhawks selected Kane with the No. 1 pick in the 2007 NHL Draft after he had 145 points (62 goals, 83 assists) in 58 games for London of the Ontario Hockey League. He was an instant success, finishing 2007-08 with 72 points (21 goals, 51 assists) and winning the Calder Trophy voted as the NHL rookie of the year while helping Chicago to its first winning season since 2001-02.
By Kane's third season, he was a First Team NHL All-Star and Stanley Cup champion. He scored the Cup-winning goal in overtime of Game 6 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final against the Philadelphia Flyers, beating goalie Michael Leighton with a shot that went in and out of the net so quickly that Kane was left to celebrate by himself for several seconds. The goal ended a 49-year championship drought for the Blackhawks.
Kane helped make sure there wouldn't be another lengthy gap between championships in Chicago; he had 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in 23 games and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP when the Blackhawks won the Cup in 2013 for the second time in four seasons. In 2015, Kane led all scorers in the postseason with 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 23 games to help Chicago win the Cup for the third time in six seasons.
In 2015-16, Kane took home a hat trick of awards after becoming the first United States-born player to lead the NHL in scoring. He won the Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion with 106 points (46 goals, 60 assists) and was voted winner of the Hart Trophy as MVP and the Ted Lindsay Award as the League's outstanding player, voted by members of the NHL Players' Association. He also had a 26-game point streak, the longest in the NHL since Mats Sundin of the Quebec Nordiques had a point in 30 consecutive games in 1992-93.
Kane was also a First Team NHL All-Star, an honor he earned again in 2016-17. In Jan. 2017, he was named to the 100 Greatest NHL Players. In 2018-19, Kane set an NHL career high with 110 points (44 goals, 66 assists).
He became the youngest United States-born player in NHL history (31 years, 61 days) to reach 1,000 points with an assist in Chicago's 5-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets on Jan. 19, 2020. Kane was the 90th player in League history to reach 1,000 points, as well as the fourth to have 1,000 with the Blackhawks, joining Hockey Hall of Fame forwards Mikita (1,467), Hull (1,153) and Denis Savard (1,096).
Kane scored an NHL career-high six points (one goal, five assists) in an 8-3 win against the Anaheim Ducks on March 8, 2022. He and Toews became the 11th set of teammates to play 1,000 regular-season NHL games together in a 7-1 loss to the Rangers on Dec. 18. His third-period goal to help the Rangers to a 4-3 win against the Florida Panthers on March 25, 2023, was the 450th of his NHl career and the 1,233rd point that passed Phil Housley for second by a United States-born player in NHL history. He also became the third player from the United States to score 20 goals at least 15 times, joining Mike Modano (16) and Keith Tkachuk (15).
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- OHL All-Rookie Team (2007)
- OHL First All-Star Team (2007)
- OHL Rookie of the Year (2007)
- Canadian Major Junior First All-Star Team (2007)
- Canadian Major Junior Rookie of the Year (2007)
- NHL All-Rookie Team (2008)
- NHL First All-Star Team (2010, 2016, 2017)
- NHL Second All-Star Team (2019)
- Played in NHL All-Star Game (2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
- Signed as a free agent by Biel-Bienne (Swiss), October 23, 2012
- Traded to Arizona by Chicago for Vili Saarijarvi, February 28, 2023.
- Traded to NY Rangers by Arizona for a 3rd-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, February 28, 2023.