Tough luck keeps Kane's parents from witnessing milestone moment in person
Fate can be cruel sometimes, a fact Patrick Kane's parents can attest to after an unfortunate set of circumstances kept them from seeing their son's milestone moment Sunday at the United Center.
Knowing Kane was fast approaching the 1,000-point mark, Donna and Pat Kane Sr. were doing everything possible to make sure they saw it in person.
They traveled to Ottawa last week when Kane was at 995 points, then went to Montreal when he was at 997.
After Kane registered an assist against the Canadiens to reach 998 points, the entire family attended a jersey-retirement ceremony by the London Knights Friday.
And that's when Mother Nature threw a wrench in the Kanes' plans.
First, nasty weather kept them from driving from Buffalo to Toronto for the Hawks' game Saturday. Then, with Kane just 1 point from 1,000, another system pummeled the East Coast and forced them to make a difficult decision.
"After the game in Toronto, which was about 11 o'clock, I went and gassed the car up for the next morning," Kane Sr. said. "I came back from the gas station and told my wife, 'Let's go right now.' It was (only) raining. ...
"Then we said, 'No. This doesn't feel right.'"
They woke up the next morning, turned on the Weather Channel and decided to stay put.
Hours later, history was made when Kane recorded the secondary assist on Brandon Saad's goal with 5:46 remaining during a 5-2 victory over Winnipeg.
Five hundred miles away, tears were being shed.
"One (of his) sisters and his mom were crying out of happiness," said Kane Sr., who attended all 41 home games last season for the first time. "For 13 years we've been coming here and making the 8.5-hour trip. We've really never missed a big moment.
"I don't know if it's the biggest because of the Stanley Cups, but it was a big one. It was important to the family. We're thrilled that it happened in the city of Chicago."
After the game, Kane was able to spend about 30 seconds on the phone with his dad in between postgame media interviews.
While Kane Sr. was bummed about missing the big milestone, he said it was more important that the entire family was able to attend Tuesday's pregame ceremony.
Kane echoed those thoughts after the morning skate.
"Obviously it would have been nice for him to be here, but it'll be nice to have him here tonight," he said, then added with a smile: "I'm sure he'll try not to miss many more games here."
The 10-minute ceremony featured a highlight video of Kane's biggest playoff goals, as well as a rundown in reverse order of his milestone points from 1,000, 900, 800 and so on all the way down to No. 1.
Denis Savard and Jill Mikita, Stan Mikita's wife, also presented Kane with a gold puck with 1,000 engraved on it, and an engraved Tiffany crystal from the NHL.