There's a lot swirling around Patrick Kane these days, but the rink remains his oasis. He was one of the first players on the KeyBank Center ice for the Chicago Blackhawks' morning skate Saturday and one of the last ones to return to the dressing room after it. And he was the last one off the ice after pregame warmups in the evening.
That's just how he has always rolled.
The business of the sport as it concerns the South Buffalo native is all anybody wants to talk about. But he's still finding joy in playing the game.
Everyone expects the Blackhawks to miss the playoffs for the fifth time in six years, and for Kane and captain Jonathan Toews to both get traded before the season ends in the final season of their contracts. This is, after all, the year for teams to be Bad for (Connor) Bedard.
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The Hawks went 4-2 in their first six games and look clearly better than several other of their perceived fellow tankers. But Thursday's last-second loss to Edmonton followed by Saturday's overtime heartbreaker against the Sabres is the kind of frustration that's could mark a long, cold winter in Chicago.
"We didn't really have many expectations coming into the year," Kane said before the game. "But I think we're at the point now where we're pretty confident in our game and feel like we can go into any game and compete and win. Just doing it for ourselves, the guys in the room. But maybe a little bit of we wanted to prove people wrong for sure," Kane said. "You hear a lot of talk about where we could have been in the standings (already)."
The Blackhawks own wins over Florida and Seattle, two teams that handled the Sabres, and suffered a narrow 1-0 loss at Vegas. The last two games have been heartbreakers for sure. You have to see if they're outliers or the start of a longer skid to the bottom.
Other than a save by Craig Anderson on a 2-on-1 break in the second period, Kane was relatively quiet Saturday. He played 20:03, had no points and only one shot on goal. For the season, he's at two goals and eight points in eight games.
There will come a time, sooner rather than later, that new Chicago GM Kyle Davidson will broach the subject with him of waving his no-movement clause and ending a Chicago career that dates to when he was the No. 1 overall pick in 2007. Kane is still elite and there will be no shortage of teams looking to get him to join for a Cup chase for his fourth ring before he heads into free agency next summer.
"You answer the questions and move on and you get ready for the game," Kane said. "When I get here tonight, I won't be thinking about that at all. I'll just be thinking about this game and playing tonight. So it's pretty easy to put all that stuff aside. It's just kind of noise right now. Obviously (Kane and Toews) both know the situation we're in, but I think no one's in a rush to make any decisions yet."
New Hawks coach Luke Richardson said he's found Kane to be open to suggestions and a good communicator when analyzing a game.
"He's professional. And he knows with that part, he might have a little bit of control with his contract situation too," Richardson said. "He's here to play hockey and he's a hockey player. He has people that look after the business side. And it's a good approach to see a player take."
Chicago Blackhawks player Patrick Kane looks on against the Buffalo Sabres during the first period at the KeyBank Center on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022.
Sabres winger Vinnie Hinostroza is from the Chicago area, started his career with the Hawks and still skates with Kane over the summer when NHL players congregate at the club's downtown facility a couple blocks from United Center. He said he's impressed at how Kane still works to hone his skills at 34 years old with more than 1,100 games on his career resume.
"It's crazy when you think about it how I was in middle school and high school when those two guys first came," Hinostroza said of Kane and Toews. "It was a long time ago. Before them, the games are blacked out in town and you couldn't really watch. Then they got these two guys and it was exciting, something for the city to be totally excited about. Obviously, they won their three Cups there since they've been there together. So it would definitely be weird to not see those guys in the Hawks jersey anymore."
Kane knows Sabres coach Don Granato well from when Granato was an assistant with both the Blackhawks and Team USA in the World Championships. He knows GM Kevyn Adams too from when they were roommates at Kane's first Chicago training camp. But before you get all crazy, the Sabres aren't trading for Kane. He's only going to OK a deal to a Cup contender.
"I feel like they're in a good situation. They have a lot of young pieces," Kane said of the Sabres. "Seems like they have a good coach. I like Donnie when he was here and Kevyn Adams has done a great job for that organization. And it seems like they're an up and coming team that can compete right now."
As for a move in free agency, perhaps that will be a little more plausible. But Kane would have to decide if the Sabres were close enough to win -- and if he wanted to play in his hometown and deal with some of the well-documented baggage of his younger, wilder years. For now, Kane to Buffalo rates as a social media fantasy.
Let's first see where he ends up Cup chasing come spring.
