Why Patrick Kane won't leave Blackhawks warmups early again
When Patrick Kane was an 18-year-old playing for the London Knights, he began a pregame warmup tradition that continues to this day.
Astute Blackhawks fans know it well.
As the clock ticks down to 0:00, a gliding Kane patiently tosses a few stray pucks into the empty net while his teammates exit the ice and head for the locker room,
Eventually, Kane is all alone. Fans of all ages - some with signs asking for a puck - are screaming.
“PATRICK!”
“KANER!”
“OVER HERE!”
And he always obliges, usually tossing one to a wide-eyed youngster who can't wait to show off the prized possession.
On Feb. 24, 2015, however, Kane was in the midst of a five-game goal drought - his second-longest of that championship season - so he decided to mix things up and leave the ice early.
“I remember sitting up there watching … and I kind of had a panic moment, like why did he leave the ice?” said former Blackhawks media relations director Brandon Faber.
As fate would have it, a hit by Florida's Alex Petrovic less than eight minutes into the game sent Kane sprawling headfirst into the boards.
The diagnosis came back the next day: Broken left clavicle. Hawks' superstar out 8-12 weeks.
As we all know, Kane's injury allowed the team to acquire Antoine Vermette at the trade deadline and the Hawks went on to claim the Stanley Cup, thanks in large part to Kane's sooner-than-expected return.
At some point between Feb. 24 and April 15 - when the Hawks played Game 1 of their opening-round series at Nashville - Faber brought up the strange coincidence to Kane about how the Hawks' forward was injured in the same game he broke with tradition.
“Once he mentioned that to me I kind of figured I'd keep the tradition going,” Kane said. “And no matter how things are going, just keep it that way.”
These days, Duncan Keith is normally the second-to-last player off the ice, but during the previous two seasons it was almost always Artemi Panarin. The Russian superstar has a mischievous side to him and he would occasionally mess with Kane after the horn sounded.
“He would kind of fight me a few times to stay out there a bit longer,” Kane said. “Just kind of waited him out a little bit.”
Three weeks ago in Columbus - on Feb. 24 of all dates - Panarin toyed with his former teammate by firing a puck at Kane just before they retreated to their respective locker rooms.
“I'm coming off the ice and he's shooting pucks at me,” said a chuckling Kane.
Hawks</a><![CDATA[ fans have sire chances to snare a puck from Kane, including Sunday when they play St. Louis.
A word of advice: If you hold up a sign - like 8-year-olds Patricia Braudy and Jilliyn Yung did on March 11 - you'll have a better chance of getting a lifelong souvenir.
“I try to find some kids with signs or jerseys and throw it to them,” Kane said. “I usually try to keep it to the kids or guys with signs or anyone with a Kane jersey.”
Twitter: @johndietzdh
Scouting report
Blackhawks vs. St. Louis Blues at United Center, 6:30 p.m. Sunday
TV: NBCSN • Radio: 720-AM
The skinny: Both teams will be playing the second game of a back-to-back, although the Blues hosted New York at 7 p.m., while the Hawks' game at Buffalo began at noon.
Next: Colorado Avalanche at United Center, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
— John Dietz