Patrick Kane had an interesting summer, to say the least. A black cloud of sexual assault allegations surrounded the 3-time Stanley Cup champion that began in training camp and continued until November when the Erie County (NY) District Attorney threw the case out due to lack of evidence. It is worth noting that Kane was never arrested or charged with a crime.
“I commend him on how he’s handled the whole situation,” Head Coach Joel Quenneville said. “His mind was in the right place, focused game in and game out. The consistency is what we measure performances and his has been outstanding.”
An Incredible Run
Kane has had an unbelievable season, especially given the modern era of hockey where goals and points are at a premium. The native of South Buffalo, New York was able to put up career bests in Goals (46), Assists (60) and Points (106), and reached the 100 point plateau in dramatic fashion, after scoring a hat-trick in a 6-4 victory against the Boston Bruins. Kane was the only player to eclipse 100 points this season.
“I would say I don’t know that anybody’s been better,” Quenneville said after the career night in Boston. “He’s been that good. He’s been dangerous, he’s been consistent, a threat every single time he hits the ice. And when he touches the puck, it elevates.”
Long forgotten are the days of Wayne Gretzky putting up 200 or more points in a single season. A good season in the NHL is measured quite differently these days, with guys getting paid $6 million for putting up 60 point seasons.
To put into perspective how special a 100 point season is, only four players since 2011 have been able to do it. (Daniel Sedin, Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby and now Patrick Kane). Last year’s Art Ross Trophy Winner (NHL Points Leader) Jamie Benn won the award with only 87 points. Benn was second this year with 89 points to Kane’s 106 points. To equate it to others sporting milestones, it would be equivalent to throwing 50 touchdown passes in a season by an NFL quarterback or hitting 50 home runs in Major League Baseball.
Captain American
Patrick Kane entered this season at 27 years old and in the first year of his new 8-year $84 million dollar contract. The 2007 1st overall draft pick is one of a few talented players that makes everyone around him better. You do not need to look any further than Artemi Panarin, who in his first full season in the NHL playing on a line with Kane.
The Russian phenom is a highly skilled player in his own right, but he has certainly benefitted from having such a talented linemate. Panarin registered 30 goals (more than Kane in his rookie season), 47 assists for 77 points and is one of the leading candidates for the Calder Memorial Trophy. If he wins the Calder, Panarin will be the first Blackhawks player since Patrick Kane to win.
Incidentally, Kane also got his long awaited second line center Artem Anisimov. He has also had a phenomenal year hitting the 20 goal mark for only the second time in his career and adding 22 assists.
Kane is the first American-born player to win the Art Ross Trophy and the first American player since Doug Weight, in 95-96, to record 100 points in a season. He is also the first Blackhawks player to reach triple digits in points since Jeremy Roenick scored 107 points in 93-94.
To put the cherry on top, Kane had a consecutive point streak of 26 games during the season. Kane passed Crosby’s streak of 25 games set in the 2010-11 season and is the longest streak in the NHL since Mats Sundin had a 30 game point streak for the Quebec Nordiques in 92-93. It is also the longest points streak among American-born players.
Over that span, the Blackhawks went 15-7-4. It began with an empty-net goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 17th and lasted until the December 15th game against the Colorado Avalanche where the Blackhawks were shut out. In total, the streak took up 61 days on the calendar where Kane accumulated 16 goals and 24 assists.
“It’s not a question of if he’s going to score,” Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said. “It’s kind of when he’s going to get on the board somehow. He’s just got that knack. I think when he’s feeling it, and he’s feeling confident, there’s not much he can’t do with the puck, and eventually something’s going to happen for him.”
Kane is All Hart
The Hart Trophy is given to the player who is the Most Valuable to his team. Last year it was obvious that goaltender Carey Price would be taking home the hardware after a tremendous season between the pipes. This year, Patrick Kane should take the honor.
He played in all 82 games, and finished a whopping 17 points ahead of the next player; Dallas Stars forward Benn (89). He led the NHL in Points/Game with 1.29 and led the defending Stanley Cup champions to another playoff berth where they are among the favorites to win the Stanley Cup. If they should succeed, they will be the first team to earn back-to-back Stanley Cups since the Detroit Red Wings won in 1997-98 and the first in the salary cap era.
All these merits should make it an easy decision for the voters to award the Hart trophy to number 88. The 2015-16 season was dominated by Patrick Kane, where he proved that he was all Hart.