Chicago Blackhawks Future Alternate Captains (Part III: Patrick Kane)

Patrick Kane: The Alternate Captain

Without further ado,  I present to you the most likely candidate to wear the A in the future: Patrick Kane. Let’s be honest, it certainly looks good on him during pre-season.

Jokes aside, Kane is a very real candidate for this role. Kane is part of the true Chicago Blackhawks core: Kane, Toews, Seabrook and Keith. He’s currently the only one of those four players without a captaincy of some sort, so it’s not a stretch to believe that he’s next in line once Seabrook retires. Additionally, it doesn’t hurt that he’s already worn the A multiple times during injuries, pre-season, etc.

Kane is fifth on the Chicago Blackhawks all-time goals list with 312. He’s sixth on their all-time assists list, and fifth for all-time points as a Blackhawk. For Kane, it’s a pretty impressive position to be in especially considering he still has productive seasons ahead of him.

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Furthermore, Like Toews, Kane has been through the many ups and downs this organization has experienced. He knows what the Stanley Cup winning seasons feel like, and he knows what the last-place central division seasons feel like.

Perhaps the strongest arguing point for Patrick Kane as alternate captain aren’t his ranks in Blackhawks history, what he means to the city of Chicago, how huge of an impact he’s had on the organization or his three Stanley Cups, Hart Trophy, scoring title, Conn Smythe and Calder Trophy.

It is, in fact, his personality.

One of the biggest issues facing the Chicago Blackhawks currently is their need to bridge the gap between the “young” guys and the “old” guys. Patrick Kane is now 29 and entering season twelve in the National Hockey League. Kane’s time (and what he’s done with it) in the NHL has earned him the respect of teammates and players around the league alike.

On Kane, Tyler Seguin said “‘‘He’s always been one of the quickest guys, one of the fastest thinkers, and I don’t think that’s ever going to change, no matter how old you are.” He continued, saying ‘‘He’s always going to seem like one of the young players.’’

I can’t imagine a better player to bridge the gap between the “old” guys and the “young” guys than someone who is virtually both. Kane already spends a significant portion of time with them anyway, according to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times.

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On the topic, Laz wrote “On the ice, however, it’s always Patrick Kane and the kids. Kane lingers after practices and morning skates with players such as Nick Schmaltz, Ryan Hartman, Vinnie Hinostroza and Alex DeBrincat. They’re working on stickhandling. They’re doing shooting drills. They’re holding trick-shot contests. They’re chirping each other with every hit post and shanked one-timer.”

So, who better to take over the A than Kane?

He’s already connecting with the young guys and made them feel welcome. That type of locker-room person cannot be overvalued. Additionally, he’s experienced nearly everything you can hope to in the NHL and he hasn’t even hit 30.Patrick has made mistakes, but learned from them. Finally, Kane has reached the point in his career where he has the maturity of an NHL veteran, yet still behaves as a kid. He has fun with the game. I can’t imagine a more perfect role model for teammates.

So long as Toews wears the C on his chest, I’d like to see the A passed down to Kane.