Patrick Kane continues to promote his candidacy

MISE À DAY

Patrick Kane seems on a real mission to impress National Hockey League (NHL) teams and force the hand of the Chicago Blackhawks for a trade. Author of another excellent performance on Wednesday evening, the American chose the right moment to shine. 

New York Rangers, Dallas Stars or Vegas Golden Knights; there is no shortage of possible destinations for Kane. He would still covet a move to the Blueshirts, and despite the addition of Vladimir Tarasenko two weeks ago, general manager Chris Drury said on Wednesday that “never say never” when referring to the right-winger of the “Hawks”.

Despite the hefty $10.5 million salary he continues to command in 2022-23, the 34-year-old is a fixture. He has 10 points in his last four games, including seven goals.

Interviewed with NBC Sports Chicago after Wednesday night's game, where he added three points to his record in a 4-3 win on the Dallas Stars, Kane admitted he wasn't trying to impress anyone.

“I don't know. Right now I've gotten going and I feel good, I'm starting to feel confident. It's thanks to a few games tonight and in the last games too. I think things are starting to click,” he said, as the Blackhawks had their best moments of the season with four straight wins.

Status quo?

Since number 88 seems to be having fun wearing the Chicago team uniform again, could he consider staying in the Windy City? According to him, the atmosphere in the locker room is excellent and he now forms a good duo with the Blackhawks' leading scorer, Max Domi.

“Our trio, in general, even when our presences do not lead to anything […] we know that we will cause something sooner rather than later. All three of us are capable of making good plays and capitalizing when we have the chance. It's been good to play with these guys lately,” said Kane, who also plays alongside Philipp Kurashev.

His teammates have also done a good job distracting the veteran from exit rumors . Kane hasn't officially made a trade request yet, but he admits to following the rumors from behind the scenes quite closely.

“Maybe when you're away from the arena, but I think the guys were very good at not broaching the topic and just focusing on hockey. I guess a lot of guys are going through the same thing, so we're all in the same boat,” he said.

In 54 games, Kane has amassed 45 points. In his career, he scored 1,225 points in 1,161 games over 16 seasons.