On the day the Chicago Blackhawks announced captain Jonathan Toews wouldn’t be going anywhere, Patrick Kane’s play on the ice may have injected some life into his trade hopes.
Kane, 34, recorded a hat trick and added an assist as the Blackhawks defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs by a 5–3 score on Sunday evening. He has five goals in his last two games.
Kane opened the scoring in the first period off a feed from Max Domi to make it 1–0 at the 10:44 mark. Then, during the second period, Kane would pick up his second tally of the night on another feed from Domi.
The two Chicago forwards would continue their chemistry for Kane’s hat-trick goal. Less than three minutes after his second tally, Kane banked a shot off of Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov to record the ninth hat trick of his career. Domi and Kane both finished the night with four points.
Kane, a pending UFA, has been the subject of trade rumors throughout the season. After the St. Louis Blues dealt Vladimir Tarasenko to the New York Rangers, Kane expressed his disappointment that the Rangers likely wouldn’t have room to acquire him ahead of the deadline.
The Maple Leafs, of course, just recently acquired Ryan O’Reilly in their own blockbuster. After Sunday’s game, Kane spoke to the media in a post-game press conference and addressed rumors linking him to the Maple Leafs.
“I don’t think there’s really, at least that I know of, much discussion of that being an option,” Kane said. “There’s a lot of different reports out there, and not all of them are true. So, gotta be careful what you listen to.”
Kane has collected 41 points (14 goals, 27 assists) in 52 games with the Blackhawks this season. He currently sits tied for second with Toews and Taylor Raddysh on the Blackhawks in goals and leads the team in assists.
After the big win, Kane also spoke about the atmosphere of playing in Chicago.
“A couple of times out there, you just get chills with the way they’re into it, with the team not doing well and the position we’re in. It was amazing,” Kane said.
With Sunday’s news about Jonathan Toews’ future, all eyes in Chicago are now on Kane. The three-time Stanley Cup champion further etched his name in Blackhawks history this season, becoming one of only two Blackhawks players in franchise history to record 1,200 points.
The Blackhawks will return to action on Tuesday to take on the Vegas Golden Knights at the United Center.
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