The Patrick Kane-Chicago Blackhawks reunion hasn’t gone exactly as planned.
When the three-time Stanley Cup champion returned to the Hawks in the summer, it was a nostalgic, emotional day for the city’s hockey fans. Kane and the team weren’t oblivious to the magnitude of his comeback.
“It’s great to be a Blackhawk again,” Kane said July 24. “Obviously the story’s great, coming back to Chicago and being a Blackhawk again, where I spend my summers and Chicago being my home.”
But once the smoke cleared, the elephant in the room remained: Could Kane help the Hawks win?
Not yet.
After their win Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Kings, the Hawks are 4-8-0, the NHL’s second-worst record, ahead of only the Vancouver Canucks (3-10-1). They had self-expectations of improvement this season, but 12 games in, they’ve fallen short.
“You always hope it’s going to click right away,” Kane said Monday. “There’s things that have been good and things that you know we can definitely do better. I don’t really feel like we’re as far off if we can figure some things out.”
Another difficult stretch looms for the Hawks after Thursday’s game in Detroit. They face the Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes — all on the road except the Avalanche — before returning to the United Center to host the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 12.
Tough sledding.
The Red Wings (5-4-3) do present a chance for back-to-back wins and to build momentum heading to Boston. It’s Kane’s first trip to Detroit since signing with the Hawks after three seasons with the Red Wings.
Although he left in free agency this summer amid a front-office shake-up and questions about the team’s direction, Kane has no ill will toward Hockeytown.
“It was a great place for me, nothing but good things to say about Detroit,” he said. “The situation, the organization, the guys on the team, it was really easy for me to get comfortable there and enjoy my time. The fans were incredible to me. (It’s) a place I’ll never forget.”
He figures to get a warmer welcome than the boos hurled at him by his hometown fans in Buffalo after he chose the Hawks over the Sabres in free agency.
“We’ll see,” Kane said. “I mean, I guess you never know with Chicago and Detroit, right? Big rivalry. But like I said, the fans were great to me there. So either way, whatever it goes, I understand, but I really loved my time there.”
Kane, 37, has spent most of his second Hawks tenure as the right wing on the top line, centered by Frank Nazar to start the season and by Connor Bedard after his return from injury. His generation-to-generation assists to Bedard have been exciting, but Kane still is looking to join the fun from a goal-scoring standpoint.
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While he leads the team with eight points, he hasn’t scored a goal since the season opener Sept. 29 in Las Vegas. He’s on pace for seven goals and 56 points if he plays all 84 games. His lowest season totals are 15 goals in the COVID-shortened 56-game 2020-21 season and 47 points in 2023-24.
How does Kane view his 2026-27 campaign so far?
“Not very good,” he said Monday. “I feel like it could be different. If a couple pucks go in and some different bounces here and there, but (it) hasn’t went that way.
“I still think there’s chances and things that are being created. It’s just trying to get a little bit more of those and capitalizing when we get them.”
It’s not like he isn’t shooting. Kane has a team-high 60 shot attempts, on pace for 420, which would be in the upper half of his season totals.
Anton Frondell is second with 45 shots, Roman Kantserov — who leads NHL rookies with five goals — has 38 and Nazar has 27 in 10 games.
“I’m shooting at like 4% right now, and throughout my career I’ve probably been like 11% or 12%,” said Kane, who indeed has an 11.5% career shooting percentage.
Twelve games is a small sample size to draw conclusions from, but Kane is in uncharted territory. Scoring slumps have been rare in his 20-year career.
“It’s frustrating, for sure,” he said. “But still, continue to shoot, trust your shot, trust your playmaking.”
Coach Jeff Blashill has said several times that the Hawks as a whole are “snake-bitten.” They’re scoring just 2.17 goals per game on 21.8 shots per game, both second-lowest in the NHL.
“He’s gotten some real chances and just hasn’t scored,” Blashill said of Kane. “I believe he’s going to and I believe there’s a group of guys out there who are going to. That’s where it becomes super imperative that you don’t beat yourselves. If you’re not scoring a lot of goals, you have to find a way to win.”
It’s a wide range of playing styles that isn’t finding the net. Is there a difference between a young player such as Oliver Moore struggling to sound the horn and a future Hall of Famer like Kane?
“Everybody’s a different individual and personality,” Blashill said. “When you’re a vet, you can rely, especially at his stature, upon knowing he’s always scored. When you’re a young player and maybe haven’t scored at this level, maybe seeds of doubt can creep in. Either way, confidence is affected and you have to find a way to fight through that.”
Added Kane: “Everyone goes through it at different times, so you learn how to battle with it. One thing is when you find your way through it on the other side, there’s no better feeling. When you get through it and you know that you’re through it, and you can feel that confidence and swagger again, that’s one of the best feelings in the game.”
Blashill moved Kane to the third line Tuesday with Nazar at center and Moore on the left wing. While the trio didn’t score, they outshot the Kings 10-1 while on the ice as the Hawks snapped a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory.
A spark may be all it takes to get Kane on a heater — and perhaps bring his young team along with him.
“The attitude in general, coming to the rink every day, trying to fight through it, everyone’s trying to find an answer,” Kane said. “Everyone’s trying to find a way to get through this little hiccup and try to prevail on the other side.
“A lot of potential, but right now I’ve been impressed with everyone’s demeanor and trying to figure things out.”