Patrick Kane appears to rip Blackhawks for poor drafting and developing
The franchise legend is clearly disgruntled with how things have played out the past few seasons.
HockeyFeed
It's been a season to forget for Chicago Blackhawks fans.
Actually... I guess you can say that for just about any season following the team's 2015 Stanley Cup championship, but this season takes the cake. Missing the playoffs or getting bumped in the 1st round always hurts, but there's nothing quite like finishing 32nd in DFL (Dead Fucking Last). And that's exactly where the Blackhawks are headed...
Meanwhile, franchise legends Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are twisting in the wind not knowing where they'll end the season. Will they be traded? Will they re-sign with the team? Or will they just end up retiring? There have been so many mixed reports out of Chicago that it's hard to know what to believe. Toews has been linked to his hometown Winnipeg Jets, while Kane has seemingly been linked to half the NHL. I kid, of course, but there have been as many as half a dozen teams who have been linked to Kane in trade talks.
Kane himself openly admitted last week that he was disappointed when the New York Rangers made a big play for Vladimir Tarasenko and effectively took themselves out of the running for Kane. It's believed that the Rangers were high on Kane's wish-list and it appears now that the team won't have the cap space to acquire him ahead of the deadline.
Kane made some headlines again today when he made some remarks that were pretty critical of the Blackhawks' coaching and development staff, particularly as it relates to former 3rd overall pick Kirby Dach. Dach, of course, was traded to the Montreal Canadiens this past offseason and has since flourished once given a new opportunity. This is no surprise to Kane and you can sense some frustrations in Kane's words as he describes his disappointment in seeing Dach flourish elsewhere.
Check it out:
"I’m not surprised. What is he (Dach), 21? 22? It takes some time sometimes, and he was probably rushed into the league. And playing fourth-line minutes, getting sat out games, it’s probably not the best thing for your development."
It’s not surprising that all of a sudden he’s starting to play a lot of minutes and playing in a good position and he’s producing. Happy for him."
- Patrick Kane
Yikes... does that sound like a player who is happy with the way things are playing out?
