How Patrick Kane can help, & hurt, the Blackhawks

Long story short, there’s no doubt Kane’s elite playmaking abilities and vision can be a huge asset for the Blackhawks.

Power play prowess

Kane can also provide an advantage to the Blackhawk’s power play, which finished a disappointing 29th in the league last season. The Red Wings finished 12th in the league on the man advantage. Kane primarily played on the right flank of the top unit, and his contributions were noteworthy.

While only registering two goals, his 17 assists was third and his 19 points fifth on the power play. In the 2024-25 season, he logged an impressive 12 goals and 29 points on the man advantage. Again, setting up goals seems to be his specialty. There’s no doubt this would also come in awfully handy for the Blackhawks.

Kane will likely play on the top unit and the right flank on the PP for the Blackhawks, especially at the beginning of the season when Bedard is out of the lineup due to injury. However, Frondell established himself as quite the sniper on the right side at the end of last season. There’s also the new addition of Kantserov. Depending on chemistry and deployment experimentation on the flanks, bumper and net front, Kane could potentially find himself on the second PP unit.

I put together some power play predictions recently, and I actually have Kane on the second unit with Nazar and Lardis. If you recall, I mentioned up above that these are both players who could especially benefit from playing alongside Kane. Let’s face it; having these three on your second unit is pretty much a plethora of riches.

How Kane hurts the Blackhawks

Now, let’s look at some ways an older Kane could be a detriment to this younger Blackhawk’s team. Kane will be 38 years old on Nov. 19. He’s also pretty set in his style of play. His age and ingrown habits could certainly be negative factors, in a few ways.

Lack of speed and defensive responsibility

Let’s check back in with our friend Jake from the Octopus Thrower. He gave some great insight into how Kane could potentially hinder the Blackhawks.

“Kane's biggest detriment (last season) was his speed. He's not the skater he used to be; and due to that, he struggles keeping up with faster players on the ice. This, in turn, leads to more defensive lapses as well. While Kane has never been much of a defensive player in his own right, he's prone to an egregious error every few games or so, which can lead to some serious frustration if you're relying on Kane to generate offense.”

Part of the Blackhawk’s identity is that of speed and fast transition, of constantly keeping the opposition on their toes. A slower Kane will have a hard time keeping up with this, and could subsequently hold back the younger, faster players. The hope is that his brain and vision will negate this, but we won’t know until it’s put into practice.

Ah, and the defensive lapses. That’s not a good sign for a team that finished 31st in the league last season with a minus-62 goal differential. The Blackhawks need to button up this area of their game and be more responsible defensively. Kane won’t be helpful in this department. Again, hopefully his offensive production will outweigh his defensive negligence.

Injuries and taking a roster spot

Another thing to consider is that Kane will be taking a roster spot from a younger player. The Blackhawks have a robust prospect pool, and many young players are knocking at the door to become everyday NHL players. Could Kane’s presence cause someone like Nick Lardis or Oliver Moore (who are both still waivers exempt) to get sent down to the Rockford IceHogs when they’d otherwise be up with the big club?  

Let’s also remember there’s greater potential for injury with older players. Jake from the Octopus Thrower helpfully informed me that Kane missed 47 games over his last three seasons in Detroit. Considering he had hip resurfacing surgery in June of 2023, that’s a pretty decent track record.

Last season, Kane missed 15 games with upper body injuries at various times. But while there’s always an adjustment when someone is out, perhaps these last two topics serve to negate each other. If Kane is out, the younger players will have a chance to step up, therefore proving their value in the lineup.

I guess we’ll just have to see how this all plays out.  

The leadership conundrum with Kane

Finally, I’d like to touch on the leadership aspect of Kane re-joining the Blackhawks. It goes without saying he’ll be a leader and mentor in his own right. But it also shouldn’t override the ownership that’s been established by the younger players.

In Kane’s introductory press conference in June, he spoke about being finding that balance of being the “legend” to be looked up to, versus just another teammate, so to speak.

“I hope that's not the case where it's like I'm coming in and they're looking at me differently than they would any of their other teammates. I know there's probably going to be certain circumstances where that happens. But yeah, I kind of want to be just like, I'm not saying I want to be like another guy in the team. I want to be a big leader and help the team take the next steps, but I want them to view me as their teammate. As they would anyone else. And I think that's going to be important for me early on, is to kind of develop those relationships with the young guys.”

The idea is to respect Kane for all he brings to the table while still allowing the younger players to have their own voice. For them to listen to him, but not to defer to him. Emerging leaders such as Bedard, Nazar and defenseman Alex Vlasic should not be stifled because of the presence of Kane. Instead, they should be strengthened by him.

I believe this can certainly be done. But all parties involved will have to be cognizant of the situation and make sure everyone can develop and nurture each other’s leadership path.  

There are pros and cons with every scenario, and this situation is no different. In all likelihood, the positives will outweigh the negatives and Kane and the Blackhawks will find tons of success together.  But the above topics will definitely be something to monitor as the 2026-27 campaign unfolds.