The Great Kane Debate: The Readers have Spoken!

Two Days ago I posted a poll about Patrick Kane and what his future as a Hawk looked like. 1,381 of you voted, which was more than double any of my prior polls. The question was:

Most likely to happen in regards to Patrick Kane:

A. He Retires a Blackhawk (doesn't get traded and remains a Blackhawk until he retires)

B. He gets traded, but then signs back with Chicago in the offseaon

C. He gets traded, and signs an extension with that team (never returning to Chicago)

D. Doesn't get traded, but signs elsewhere once he is a UFA this offseason

The results were extremely close:

A. 29% B. 33% C. 28% D. 10%

I personally believe it will be A. I do not believe he wants to be traded and thusly can not as well as the factors of Chicago needing to hit the cap floor next season (likely in the low 61-63m range). Compound on that the need to sell tickets and jersey / merchandise. For me, all this equates to Patrick Kane not moving on.

Then there are the records. Obtainable for Kaner? Yes, but they will be difficult to reach. He needs to score another 260 points to catch Stan Mikita for the all-time Blackhawks record. I believe this is his main goal to end his career. It will take years, meaning an extension in the 3-4 years range will have to happen this off season. In his mid-thirities now and playing with a young roster, Patrick Kane is starting to see the decline of his once point per game consistency. These factors will likely put that goal in the year 4 or year 5 range from now.

Again, it's obtainable if that is truly his desire. He has the cups, he has the individual awards, however a legacy like this on an orginal 6 team is not something that most players could ever say they were close to.

What happens, only time will tell. My gut feeling is that he wants to see this through to the end of the rebuild and be apart of it... obtaining the all-time points lead along the way.