Chicago Blackhawks franchise icon hits marquee career milestone

The Chicago Blackhawks are used to Patrick Kane putting on a show consistently, and that has remained the case during his time in Detroit. “Showtime” has 20 goals and 33 assists this season (53 points) in 65 games after posting 20 goals in his first campaign as a Red Wing a year ago.

This season is Kane’s first in Detroit where he will get the chance to play the full year. He signed with the team during last season while he was rehabbing from his hip-resurfacing surgery that he had on June 1, 2023. Kane also dealt with an upper-body injury last year, which limited his game activity even more with the Red Wings.

The number one overall pick of the 2007 draft kept a relatively clean bill of health throughout his time in Chicago, but the general wear and tear has taken a toll on him. No matter the circumstances, Kane has produced every season and hit a huge milestone last Friday.

Chicago Blackhawks franchise icon Patrick Kane picks up milestone

Kane now has the new record in the NHL for the most 20-goal seasons by a U.S. born player with 17. The winger accomplished this feat in the Red Wings’ 5-3 win against the Hurricanes on Friday. The only season where Kane did not hit the 20-goal mark was in the COVID-shortened season, when he scored 15 goals and collected 66 total points in 56 games.

The best two seasons of Kane’s career were both 100-point campaigns in 2015-16 and 2018-19. He netted 46 goals and had 60 assists in 2015-16 and brought home the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s MVP that season. In 2018-19, he had 44 goals and 66 helpers for 110 points in 81 games.

The fact that Kane picked up 20 goals in just 50 games a season ago is extremely impressive, and it speaks to how good he is. Chicago was lucky to have him dominate for as many years as he did, and the three Stanley Cups will always be linked to the superstar’s ability to take over any game.

The Chicago Blackhawks are picking up steam post-Patrick Kane

Despite being at the bottom of the league standings, the Blackhawks are beginning to turn a corner in the rebuild as the season comes to a close. Winning the 2023 draft lottery and selecting Connor Bedard certainly sped up the rebuild for general manager Kyle Davidson, but other pieces of the youth movement making their NHL debuts this year give plenty of optimism for the future.

Bedard has scored 20-plus goals in each of his first two seasons in the NHL, and it is clear that he is the next franchise cornerstone to follow in Kane’s footsteps. There is no doubt that these past few seasons have been extremely painful for fans to sit through, but knowing that the front office has done a good job so far establishing a core for the future gives a ton of hope for the next few seasons.

Along with Bedard, Frank Nazar and Oliver Moore are expected to be mainstays in the forward unit for a long time. Other first-round picks last year in Sacha Boisvert and Marek Vanacker will be up to help them soon, with other young faces in the prospect pool thriving at the amateur level.