Blackhawks Season Review: Patrick Kane’s 2020 Postseason Fell Short

Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks finished their 2020 season a few weeks ago, and it did not end with Kane out on the right note.

Patrick Kane has a thankless job. He is expected to go out every night and put up unbelievable numbers for the Chicago Blackhawks, and most of the time, he is expected to do that with very little help from his teammates.

Patrick Kane had another great season this past year. He managed to put more than a point per game like he usually does, but this time he was doing it without that many great linemates around him.

Kane does better when the Blackhawks give him set linemates throughout the entire season. He builds chemistry with his linemates and always finds where they are on the ice. So, maybe playing him with Alexander Nylander might not be the best decision.

When it comes to Patrick Kane’s play this year, I believe he did what the team asked from him. However, I do think there were mistakes along the way, not from Kane himself, but the coaching staff when it came to playing Patrick Kane.

The Numbers:

Age: 31
Contract: 10.5 million until the end of 2022-23 season
Games Played: 70
Goals: 33
Assists: 51

Postseason:
Games Played: 8
Goals: 2
Assists: 7

Postseason Performance:

Patrick Kane could have scored more goals this postseason. I would have liked to see him factor more on the goal sheet, and I feel like if the series against Vegas was going to go further than five games, it was only going to be because Kane found a way to score offensively.

I thought the weirdest thing we would see this postseason would be the crowd with no fans in it, but I was wrong; it was seeing Kane not score a goal a game as he does in the regular season for long stretches.

The Blackhawks are going to have to be better with Kane moving forward if they want to win. You can’t overplay him too much. Kane recently turned 31 and just played over 20 minutes a game on average. Kane can continue to produce, but Chicago needs to improve on their depth, so we do not see Kane taking so many extra shifts night in and night out. Being overworked showed up in his play on the ice.

Future With The Team:

There is no question about the future when it comes to Patrick Kane. We are going to see him back in Chicago next season and for years to come. Hopefully, we get to see him with some different linemates.

I would like to see Jeremy Colliton change up his approach with Kane moving forward. Colliton and company need to scratch the idea that Nylander is going to be a top-six forward and play Kane with the best talent available.

Overall, depth might be hurt if you play Kane with someone like Alex DeBrincat, but I would argue that DeBrincat was not that productive on a line by himself. He is better when he has excellent linemates like Kane, and I hope we get to see the two of them together next season.

Rating For The Year

Patrick Kane might not have been his usual self. Kane did not steal too many games during the playoffs like he usually would. We can not hold that against him though, because he does so much for this team to make them competitive year after year. For Kane’s play this season, I am giving him an A- rating.

It would be just an A if he found a way to hit the back of the net during the playoffs. I would expect to show up better than ever next season. I do not think anyone in that locker room was happy with the way their year ended, and Kane is going to make sure his game is elevated to another level!