Blackhawks News: Patrick Kane leaves game vs LightningVincent Pariseon January 4, 2023 at 5:36 am

The Chicago Blackhawks have a lot of big decisions to make soon. What is going to happen with Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and a few others as they are clearly trying to tank?

Connor Bedard is on their mind and they are setting themselves up nicely to have a good chance at him. He is the type of player worth wishing for as the NHL season hits the dog days.

With the three-time defending Eastern Conference Champion Tampa Bay Lightning in town, this was another game that would not be easy for the Blackhawks.

The Hawks scored the first goal of the game to make it 1-0 but that was it. The Lightning scored four unanswered to give themselves a 4-1 win as they keep pace in their playoff race in the Atlantic Division. This is a team trying to make another deep run.

The biggest story of the game revolves around Patrick Kane’s status.

The biggest story of the game, however, had nothing to do with the Lightning who came away victorious. It didn’t even have anything to do with hockey. Patrick Kane left the game early without nobody ever really knowing why.

After the game, Luke Richardson said that it was a lower-body injury that could have started with a hit that he took in their most recent game before this one. He said that it got progressively worse on Tuesday night before they finally ended the game for him.

This is big news because Kane is on an expiring contract and could very well be traded before the trade deadline. In fact, this injury came exactly two months before the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline so things might start heating up on the hot stove soon.

It probably was a bit of an injury for Kane but the team is probably also being extra cautious with him. They want him as healthy as possible in case they need to ask him to waive his no-move clause because a team is willing to give up a lot. He could say no but he won’t.

Kane isn’t having a banner season like we are used to seeing because he has no help. This team is absolutely terrible and is only going to get worse.

When he is finally moved, you will see a jump in his numbers to a more Patrick Kane-line total again. Hopefully, he is okay because Hawks fans would like to see him play just a bit more before he is moved out of town.

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