Kane hoping to celebrate 21st birthday with a victory
Look who's turning 21.
It's Patrick Kane, and the best way for him to celebrate his 21st birthday on Thursday would be to get a victory over the Calgary Flames.
"I don't even know if I'm going to get to celebrate, to be honest with you," Kane said. "It might just be a low-key 21st birthday, but that's fine with me. It's just a number and I don't think anything is going to change."
It would have been nice for Kane to celebrate his birthday with a contract extension, but the expected new deals for Kane, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith remain on hold. It's expected they will be finalized in the next few weeks.
"We're still negotiating, talking to my agent, but like I said before it would be great to play in Chicago for a while, especially with the fan support here and the way the team has turned around," Kane said.
Big numbers: According to multiple sources, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews will sign five-year contract extensions for approximately $6 million a year each.
Defenseman Duncan Keith's new deal is a bit more complicated because of the fact it's believed to be a 13-year extension, which would take Keith to age 39.
Keith's cap hit likely will be lower than $6 million because of the length of the contract, which surely will be examined closely by the NHL before being approved.
Versteeg update: Hawks coach Joel Quenneville believes Kris Versteeg could play Thursday against the Flames.
Versteeg missed Sunday's win over San Jose with what it believed to be a head injury, suffered from a fall into the boards last week against Toronto.
If Versteeg plays, Quenneville said he likely would be back at center on a line with Patrick Sharp and Dustin Byfuglien.
"We're hoping he can play," Quenneville said. "He felt much better (Wednesday). Yesterday we were concerned, but he feels way better and hopefully he'll have the same progress (Thursday)."
Earned recall: Left wing Bryan Bickell was recalled from Rockford on Wednesday and will be in the lineup against Calgary, skating on the first line with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.
"He played very well last game (against San Jose)," Joel Quenneville said.
Andrew Ebbett would be a healthy scratch for the second straight game unless Kris Versteeg can't play. Ebbett (1 goal and no assists in 12 games since being claimed on waivers from Anaheim) appears to be out of chances to play on the top two lines.
"He's been all right for us," Quenneville said. "He's been responsible defensively. His production is probably not at the rate that he was hoping for and maybe we were looking at, but at the same time, some games you can't say he's had a ton of ice time."