I suspected hand injury or team Lalonde depression or some form of both, but seeing the way he’s instantly popped off since the shackles came off the team is fantastic to see. I felt bad for him more than anything down the stretch; not at all what was expected after last year, but happy to see Kane and team getting back on track. He’s absolutely been huge and stepped up massively the last two weeks.
Confirmed with Link: Patrick Kane signs one year extension (4M base, up to 6.5M with bonuses)
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heyfolks
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- Apr 30, 2007
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I had the guy one foot in the hockey playing grave, but man has he come back to life under TM.
I was very sure he was done. I didn't see anything good he could do well. Now he is on the hot streak with 13 points in 8 games and maybe the teams best playmaker. I believe he expressed his displeasure in November or so. The coach change has obviously a huge impact on the team. It will be interesting to see what happens after the hot streak.
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Steve Yzerlland
Registered User
- Jul 18, 2018
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I always believed. Guy is a first ballot HOFer. Knew he would turn it around.TM definitely rejuvenated him though.
Gniwder
IN TODD WE TRUST
I kinda held back on trashing him as well. His game never suited Lalonde's shell strategy.
Steve Yzerlland
Registered User
- Jul 18, 2018
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Euro Twins
Healthy Scratch
- Mar 19, 2016
- 1,176
- 1,160
He's gotta be ppg the rest of the year to hit 60
KJoe88
Forever Lost.
Henkka
Registered User
It still interesting thing to see, how good everybody plays without Kane on the roster.
Nothing wrong in him as an individual, but just weird.
Nothing wrong in him as an individual, but just weird.
19 for president
Registered User
- Apr 28, 2002
- 3,162
- 1,487
The fact is that Kane does not play defense in the D zone at all. Sometimes he'll do a little neutral zone back check, but that is as far as his defensive engagement goes.
I love to watch him on the PP, but he is largely a PP/OT specialist now. If you give him time and space in the other teams D zone, watch out. In a tight checking game and for most of 5 on 5 play he is a major defensive liability.
So with that said I don't think it is that the entire team plays different without him, I just think any line with him and DBC on it is a massive challenge on defense for this team. God forbid they end up out there with the 3rd pair. While I think DBC tries really hard defensively he just isn't someone who is super effective against the forecheck. This goes double for Kane, who is clearly out there trying not to jack up his hip further to some extent. I think they should always try to be paired with Ed/Aljo because that is our least panic defensive pair.
So what you see when he is gone is more defensively balanced top 6 without him. If the Wings had more smart players we'd be better off trying to get Kane like 3rd line matchups, but we only have 3 guys that mesh with him offensively. He's sort of like Datsyuk in that regard. Datsyuk and Kane think the game at such a high level that you need at least 1 other player with a high offensive IQ for them to be at their most effective. Maybe him and Soder could be a matchup pairing. None of our bottom 6 outside of Berg (same issue as DBC though) have the smarts to play with him.
The Wings are in a weird spot where they need his offense because we lack scorers but its a double edged sword because he definitely increases their chances of being scored on too. When he is out there helping your PP rock out at 30-50% then its worth it. If the PP struggles though then his offense probably does not make up for the defensive liability.
From an entertainment factor I love watching him play, but as I noted last year too I don't know if he is the best fit from a winning perspective.
This is a big issue. I think this is also why we just keep him with DBC and whatever center can win faceoffs for them. Neither Kane nor DBC are strong defensively, but together, getting a lot of offensive zone starts with a guy who wins the majority of his faceoffs...limit the defensive zone damage as much as possible.
norrisnick
The best...
- Apr 14, 2005
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No, what you do is turn him into the forward equivalent of Ghost, toss him on the 4th line and give him single digit ES minutes. His ES metrics are abysmal. Stop nuking the 2nd line with him. Do to him what Scotty did with Robitaille.
19 for president
Registered User
- Apr 28, 2002
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In a lot of ways I agree with this. The tricky part is the personality/ locker room issue. Its very obvious on ice when Kane is sulking. He did it towards the end of last year and was definitely doing it under Lalonde this year.
When it was Lucky Luke we had a whole room full of vets and he was desperate for a cup, so even though I remember it coming out that he was a bit unhappy in the role he moved on. Kane does not have the same motivations. He is playing on a maybe playoff team and has won plenty of cups. The Wings don't have the vets to overshadow a disgruntled Kane in that locker room.
I'd almost see what we could do where we just sub him in on offensive zone faceoffs for the 1st & 2nd lines, and put Kasper in for anything outside of that. Putting him with 4th liners would be a total waste as he cannot play that style of game. But limiting his ES ice time is needed. He just can't keep up defensively or possess the puck long enough to negate his defense.
