You wouldn’t know it by his 66 points in 56 games, but Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane played through a nagging injury all season. According to NBC Sports’ Charlie Roumeliotis, Kane disclosed in his exit interview that he had been dealing with an “issue” since before the 2020 playoff bubble. He opted to persevere through the pain of the undisclosed injury, and it seems that was the right choice. Kane remarked that he does not need offseason surgery, nor will he miss time in his summer training. Instead, Kane believes that he will merely focus on more off-ice work in the offseason.
Kane, 32, only showed the slightest hint of wear and tear, as Roumeliotis points out that Kane had several maintenance days down the stretch. Yet, Kane still managed to play in every game for the Blackhawks. He has now missed one game or fewer in five of his past six seasons, showing no signs of slowing down in his 14th season. Again, even while battling injury, Kane also posted his third consecutive season of scoring at a point-per-game pace or better. It was the 10th time that he has achieved this mark.
Of course, Kane’s nagging injury begs the question of what he would have been able to do at full strength this year. Even without career running mate Jonathan Toews, Kane was still Chicago’s leading scorer by a wide margin and even adjusted his game to be more playmaker than scorer. The Blackhawks were in the playoff mix for a good portion of the season, so with a healthy Kane (and Toews) next season, the team could be a threat to return to the postseason next year.
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