It’s Not Your Goldfish That’s Gone Down the Toilet Kaner
This interview with Patrick Kane really irritates me. In it he makes fun of the reason he wasn’t in game 3: His pet goldfish died and he had to fly back to Chicago to flush it down the toilet. Seems the only thing that’s going down the toilet lately is Kaner’s game.
Do we look stupid to you Kaner? Do you think it’s a joke that we’re all speculating that the reason you weren’t in game 3 is for YOUR safety? We wouldn’t all be speculating if there weren’t something to be speculating about; i.e. that you can’t hack it in the playoffs and you may not be able to hack it in the NHL. Yeah, hilarious!
You know I wrote a post a few days ago, in which, like other sports fans and pundits, I pondered whether Kane really had the flu or if they pulled him because he couldn’t take the hits and as a result wasn’t really contributing on offense. But then, because I’m a fan, I pulled the post because I thought I owed more allegiance to the Hawks and Kaner himself than to be critical of a team I so love. But if it’s a joke to Patrick Kane, then hey, why hold back?
So here’s what I really think. I think Patrick Kane has been struggling for the better part of the season. Without the help of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp, Kane would have been struggling the whole season. He’s too short, too light-weight, and too mild-mannered to make it in the playoffs (and perhaps the NHL) as it stands now. I don’t agree with Steve Konroyd that Patrick Kane is an “energizing force” to his line. I think Patrick Kane has become a liability to his line with Jonathan Toews constantly having to shadow him in true big brother style to make sure the other bigger boys on the playground don’t beat him up. Thing is, Tazer’s a little busy in the playoffs and can’t shadow his little brother with the Flames ‘D’ being so good.
Konroyd went on to say that the Hawks missed Kane in game 3 since he’s their set-up man. Hmm, don’t think so. Kane can hardly make it out of the neutral zone much less anywhere near the net so far in this series against the Flames. But again, that’s been true for most of the season. Seems opposing teams figured out that the best way to keep Kane from scoring is to hard check him repeatedly. They know he can’t take it.
So why is the Blackhawks organization still pushing Patrick Kane down fans’ throats like he’s a Jonathan Toews? As the Bleacher Report noted, the Blackhawks organization needs people to believe that lie because Kane has been a very effective marketing tool. But now it’s time to face facts. Kane’s game is in trouble. And that ain’t no joke.
April 23rd, 2009 at 4:31 pm
I still think Patrick Kane can be an effective player, but that injury he rushed back from earlier in the season may not have healed 100%, and he could not, or at least has not, so far, picked his game back up. As for what he said, well Kane is a young guy and deserves some slack given his age, but there is no denying it was retarded. Man does Toews ever carry himself well. He is head and shoulders above Kane when it comes to his character, leadership, and impact on a game on and off the ice. That said, Patrick Kane will be an all-star for years to come, but it seems that he has been ineffective in this years post-season that is for sure. Perhaps he should bulk up some more this summer, and hopefully his injury (was it an ankle?) will recover and he will be 100% next year.
By the way, Go Flames Go!
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Thanks a lot Ken for coming on here and being respectful. I have not always found that to be the case with fans from opposing teams who leave comments. (Ahem, Canucks fans.)
I hope you’re right about all you’ve said because I would so love to be proven wrong about Kane. That’s what has me miffed at him. He doesn’t seem to understand what a predicament he’s in. And yes, that’s probably because he’s young. But I’m not miffed because Kane’s game is poor. It’s his attitude. And you’re so right. When you parallel Jonathan Toews with Patrick Kane, there is no comparison. Tazer is a consummate professional, on and off the ice (at least as far as we know). They call him Mr. Serious, though we’ve seen him goof around. But he isn’t arrogant and he isn’t a smart mouth. Kaner? Hmm…well, he seems a bit arrogant and he doesn’t seem to be taking our speculations seriously. He should take us seriously though because it means we’re starting to see that the emperor has no clothes. And I don’t think his game is bad because he hasn’t recovered from his injury. At least, I don’t think that’s the whole story. His game started going south when opposing teams figured out that Kane couldn’t take the hard hits and then they incorporated those hard hits into their defensive strategy. It’s real easy to keep Kane from the net. Just check him hard and check him often. If even I, a novice hockey fan, can see it, then so can everybody else.
Like I said, I hope I’m proven wrong about all I’ve said in the above post because I like Kane and I want him to make it in the NHL and hopefully here in Chicago. But it ain’t looking good right now.
May 13th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
[...] however congratulate Patrick Kane on his hat trick Monday night (good to see Kaner shake off the goldfish), Jonathan Toews on his two (typical excellence from Tazer with or without the flu), Adam Burish on [...]