My first NHL idol: Blackhawks' Kane on Pat LaFontaine
During the NHL playoffs, we're asking some Blackhawks to tell us which player they grew up idolizing. We'll share their story on each game day.
Patrick Kane said he often changes the answer to this question when asked about it. The five names he rattled off Thursday were Joe Sakic, Pat LaFontaine, Miroslav Satan, Peter Forsberg and Jaromir Jagr.
But when asked to give the first player who stood out to him, Kane said LaFontaine, who played for Kane's hometown Buffalo Sabres from 1991-97.
Kane said he met LaFontaine at the hockey school that LaFontaine and his brother ran in Buffalo.
"It was kind of the big thing where Pat would come in at the end of the week and talk to all of the kids," Kane said. "That was the exciting moment everyone was looking forward to."
LaFontaine, whose first NHL team was the Islanders, scored 468 goals in a career that went from 1983-98. He averaged 47.7 goals a year from in the six seasons from 1987-93.
"He did it in all different ways offensively," Kane said. "Him and (Alexander) Mogilny obviously had some big-time chemistry. I can look back on a lot of plays he made, whether it was breakaways or 2-on-1s.
"I can remember one play growing up where he kind of kicked to a guy backdoor and they scored. (He'd do) anything possible to produce."