Elliotte Friedman Speculates That Patrick Kane's Hip Issue Was The Reason The Rangers Pursued Tarasenko

Last week was a very confusing set of events and quotes from Kane and the quote from Friedman on Chicago's Hockey show threw me for a loop too. 

I just refuse to believe this line from scouts/execs/opponents etc who say Kane looks like he's laboring. I went to the game on Friday against the Coyotes. I don't see a guy who is laboring. I watched the game against Anaheim where he was winning races on the forecheck and creating offensive chances and goals. I've actually watched probably 95% of Kane's shifts since fucking 2007. He might not be exactly as fast as he was in 2015, but speed has never been the driving force of his game. It's his brain and that is the difference. His brain is running on software that isn't compatible with the hardware that his this roster. So it's buffering and waiting for the system to catch up and it results in lag time and frustration. He's 5G and this is a dialup roster. 

Kane's hip has been a thing for a while I guess. Who doesn't start getting aches and pains in their 30s? When Kane had the right pieces around him, just last year with Debrincat and Strome, he had 92 points. That is INCREDIBLE considering he was on such a bad team. When you're on a bad team that means you're going to be attracting all of the defensive attention and best players from the opposition every single shift. It means you have the puck less and inherently get fewer kicks at the can. There's just fewer opportunities for offense than any other time in his career and when he does make plays the puck ends up on the stick of Jason Dickinson. I really like Jason Dickinson, but I would like him on the 4th line. Not a line with Patrick Kane. 

On the team right now the Blackhawks have Dickinson, Blackwell, Reese Johnson, Katchouk, Entwistle, and (IR) Khaira. I like all of those guys to one degree or another. They're NHL players. Having said that...if you're a good NHL team you have one guy like that on your team. The Hawks are littered with them to the point that Dickinson is Kane's center. He's done a fine job of late. He knows exactly who he is and plays an honest game. I have time for guys like that. He just shouldn't be Kane's center and it shouldn't be a black mark on Kane when he's a playmaker and guys around him rarely get to the right places and when they do there isn't as much finish. 

I don't want Kane to leave. I want him to sign a 4 year extension so he can benefit from playing with the cavalry that is coming. Bedard/Fantilli, Nazar, Reichel, and whoever else they bring in this summer or the summer after. This thing is getting closer. Let's just stop fucking around. Communicate what is wanted and set up everyone to succeed.