Patrick Kane Says He Wanted To Be A Blackhawk For Life
“If they came to me and said, ‘We want you to be a Blackhawk for life. Can we work something out?’ I think it probably would have been tough to say no, just because of what happened there and the success we had and just the relationship with the organization,”--Patrick Kane via The Athletic
I keep posting quotes like this from Kane when they appear because there's a certain faction of the fan base that believes the narrative spread by the organization that they did right by Patrick Kane and that he wanted to be traded last year. That was NEVER true. He wanted to stay here forever, smash every Blackhawks scoring record, and genuinely help the rebuild. The organization had no interest in that and by all reports never even told him their plans until right before the deadline. They could've offered him a contract in July, or...told him that they were moving on in the summer and gotten a better package of picks because the team trading for him would've had him for the entire year.
I've been told all sorts of reasons as to why the Blackhawks shoved the greatest thing that ever happened to the franchise out the door, but the most recent one filled me with rage.
Davidson said that he wanted an opportunity for "fresh growth" or whatever. Now, I don't think it was Davidson's decision. If it was, then that is a BIG strike against his resume. Patrick Kane is arguably the best contract in the league right now being a point per game guy making under $3M. Also, the Bruins never felt the need to push Bergeron out the door. The LA Kings are back in the playoffs in the West after a full rebuild and they're still led by Kopitar and Doughty.
The most recent reasoning for getting rid of Kane was because "his body language last year was bad and that he was very hard on his teammates". What a bunch of shit that is. Oh, the best and hardest working player on the team is frustrated by having to play with a rookie head coach and a bunch of guys who can't help him while he's playing through excruciating pain. His body language was bad on one leg? I don't know how true that is, but I believe things like that were said. Maybe they should've asked themselves or asked Strome, Debrincat, Dach, and Panarin how Patrick Kane was as a mentor and leader. They'd have GLOWING reviews. Nick Schmaltz...might not.
I don't care if Kane was frustrated and demanding and could be perceived as a dick sometimes. He's cut from the same cloth as Jordan, Kobe, and Tiger. He built a modern day dynasty and the people in charge ruined it. They wasted 8 years of his prime and then unceremoniously and callously showed him the door. Then tried to profit from it by throwing a camera in his face on his way out of the hotel in San Jose without talking to him first. They did so many things wrong, but this is NOT how you should treat someone who did so much for the city, the organization and the game in Chicago.
At least Bedard appreciates him.
Bedard missed time with a broken jaw and is still going to win the Calder. Imagine how many points he'd have and how much better he'd be if he had Kane on his right wing. If he had Kane feeding him on the PP. It's a shame how the end played out. I hope Bedard doesn't get talked too if he's hard on a teammate some day.