Quote:
Originally Posted by The Cobra
8 years ago he was the mvp and led the league in scoring.
But you said he’s been declining offensively for years?
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Even eight years ago, in that Hart season, the Blackhawks were down 238-190 in high-danger chances with Kane on the ice at 5v5. And then they were quickly exposed in the defensive zone in that year's playoffs and never won a round with him again. It should've been Crosby or Thornton that year.
In eight of the last eight years, the Hawks/Rangers have given up more than they've generated with Kane on the ice, and it's only gotten worse over time. Last year, he was borderline unplayable at 5v5 and made the Rangers demonstrably worse after they acquired him. The high-danger chances with him on the ice in the playoffs were 33-15 NJ. But he is undeniably very good at getting secondary assists on the power play.
Now, he's coming off a surgery that literally no one has ever been able to successfully return from, and he's going to break up a Red Wings top line that has been clicking at a solid rate so they can try to reunite a DeBrincat/Kane combo that never once had any meaningful success in Chicago beyond empty-calorie points. It's a pretty bad bet for a Detroit team that has made a lot of them since Yzerman took over.