Patrick Kane Becoming The Main Cog In The Chicago Blackhawks Success

The chatter for Patrick Kane and his candidacy for the NHL Hart Memorial Trophy is picking up steam. It has made hockey fans, the diehards and casual onlookers, forget about the controversy he was involved in during last summer. Patrick Kane seems unfazed about dealing with the situation that could have potentially cost him his career. His play on the ice, along with how his team, the Chicago Blackhawks have become better before our eyes.

It took the entire summer and then some for Buffalo investigators to sort through the assault allegations that Patrick Kane was involved in. What happened at his Buffalo home on the night of questioning? The end result was a messy soap opera filled with constant updates and scattered details. The scandal divided fans during a time when the Stanley Cup winning Blackhawks should have been celebrated as the most recent dynasty team in a sport where dynasties are hard to come by.

What will happen to Patrick Kane’s reputation? Should he face prison time, a ban from the NHL, or an exodus from his Blackhawk teammates?

Such talk has now become faint. Patrick Kane’s magical season is putting fans on watch. Fans are going back to just enjoying Chicago Blackhawk’s hockey again. Talk about the allegations from the summer is at a minimum.

Midway through the NHL season, Patrick Kane has kept the conversation about a different narrative, and the Chicago Blackhawks are back into the discussion for Stanley Cup contenders. One of the main reasons for the Blackhawks’ recent 12-game winning streak was the talented 26-year-old who was the talk of the league over the summer.

Lost in the Patrick Kane talk was the removal of several key members of the Stanley Cup team. Brandon Saad was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Longtime stalwart Patrick Sharp was sent to the Dallas Stars. He would be joined by defenseman Johnny Oduya. Each move was supposed to keep the Blackhawks away from the hard luxury cap threshold and taking them away from being the frontrunner for the Stanley Cup. With each loss, Patrick Kane has done more than his part to ease the pain.

Already an offensive marvel, Patrick Kane has upped his defensive game too, by @ChrisKuc https://t.co/gahi128RuN pic.twitter.com/O7KX23cZKA

— Chicago Tribune Sports (@ChicagoSports) January 21, 2016

There were some bumps suffered during the Chicago Blackhawk’s road trip through Florida. The 2-1 defeat to the Tampa Bay Lighting is what snapped the 12-game streak. How dominant Patrick Kane and the Blackhawks were against the 12 teams they defeated along the way to putting themselves atop the Western Conference.

Kane’s hat trick helped the Blackhawks earn one of the victories during the franchise-record breaking streak. His offense was touted as one of 12 reasons for the successful 12-game stretch by the Chicago Tribune. Patrick Kane’s offense has been present and accounted for all season long. He is showing the type maturity on the ice which makes everyone ignore his faults.

With an NHL-leading 30 goals and 42 assists, Kane is on pace to reach the 100-point mark. In doing such, he would join the ranks of Bobby Hull, Denis Savard, Jeremy Roenick and Steve Larimer as Chicago Blackhawks whom have achieved the feat. If he can maintain his current pace, he will also become the first player born in the United States to win the point-scoring title according to ESPN. Roenick was the last American to reach the 100-point plateau for a U.S. based team in the 1993-94 campaign.

Patrick Kane’s work with rookie Artemi Panarin on the Blackhawks’ second line is also admirable.

The chemistry in which they have showed while working with each other suggests that the older Kane is now a wiser player. The inclusion of Panarin has emancipated Patrick Kane in ways that benefit the team as a whole.

In prior seasons, Patrick Kane was already known as an unselfish player. Skating along Artemi Panarin, whom many regard as having a similar skill set, allows the Blackhawks’s elder statesman to get the puck to a player with comparable speed. Their chemistry allows Jonathan Toews to play with the top line and set the tone defensively and via face-offs. To simplify things, Patrick Kane has become the great equalizer when many foresaw him as being a huge distraction. Kane is deserving of any praise that comes his way these days.

The 2015-16 season could have been a dumpster fire for the Chicago Blackhawks. Instead, because of Patrick Kane and his Hart Memorial Trophy level of play, they are right where they have been in the last five seasons, as Stanley Cup contenders. Kane has silenced everyone with his performance.

[Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images Sport]