The advice Blackhawks legend Denis Savard gave Patrick Kane that Kane will never forget
Patrick Kane and Denis Savard have always enjoyed a special relationship.
Much of it probably stems from the fact that the two legendary forwards were blessed with talent even the most highly skilled players wish they possessed.
Their connection began when Coach Savard took the fresh-faced teenager under his wing just as Kane's rookie season began in 2007. After a so-so training camp, Savard sensed the frustration building and decided to deliver a message before the Blackhawks' season opener at Minnesota.
It's a conversation that Kane still remembers to this day.
"He kind of pulled me aside before the first game and told me to go out there and do my thing and don't really worry about anything else," Kane said. "From then on, I just felt a little more comfortable. Played pretty well that first game and played a lot better after that.
"It was kind of refreshing to hear that from him, especially a guy who had such a great career and was a head coach of the team."
The suddenly confident 18-year-old notched assists in four of his first five contests (and scored a shootout winner against Detroit in the home opener), then finally got his first NHL goal in a 5-3 victory over Colorado on Oct. 19.
Twelve years later, Kane jumped over his former coach and into fourth place in Blackhawks history when he scored the 378th goal of his career on an empty-netter at Calgary on Tuesday. He added two more in Vancouver on Thursday to push his total to 380.
"A great honor getting passed by - in his era - the best player there's been," said Savard, who scored 377 times for the Hawks from 1980-90 and 1995-97. "If you go since hockey started, he's got to be in the Top 10 (all-time) for sure now.
"He's just fun to watch. He's havin' a (heckuva) year again."
With 24 goals and 29 assists, the 31-year-old Kane is on pace for his third 40-goal, 100-point season since 2015-16. It's a fact that leaves Savard grasping for words, especially when one realizes that Kane never achieved those numbers during the first eight years of his career.
"I saw him at the (team) Christmas party with the fans," Savard said. "He's in such great shape and is stronger than he's ever been. I don't see him backing off. He's got many more years in him."
Savard and Troy Murray, who were Hawks teammates for eight seasons, both marvel at Kane's poise with the puck and the way he keeps defenders at bay. Savard tells fans to pay attention to how Kane - unlike most players - waits until the last moment before deciding what to do with the puck.
It's that extra split second that often puts teammates in better position to score.
"He's crazy, isn't he? Isn't he something?" Savard gushed. "When I speak to some of our sponsor events, (I'll) obviously talk about Tazer and Duncs and Seabs and Crow.
"I finish up with Patrick and I say, 'Of course you're going to watch him when he has the puck. There's no question. But the biggest thing when you watch a game with him, when he has the puck, you've got to watch away from him to see how the play's going to (develop). He has great vision. Just watch for other people around him.'"
Of course, Savard had that same kind of ability. The smooth-skating Canadian was drafted third overall by the Hawks in 1980 and absolutely dazzled fans at the old Chicago Stadium during a truly memorable decade.
In an era of goons, fighting and bone-crunching hits, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound forward scored 28 or more goals in his first eight campaigns (with a career-high of 47 in 1985-86) and racked up 100-plus points five times. He still holds team records for most assists in a season (87, twice) and most points in a season (131 in 1987-88).
Three decades later, even casual fans can still envision the Spin-O-Rama, Savard's signature move that always seemed to befuddle opponents.
"The hands, the skill of Denis Savard was unbelievable," said Murray, who has been the Hawks' radio color analyst since 2003. "You sat on the bench and we were in amazement of some of the things he would do during games. And you saw him during practice doing the same things, but you're going, 'How in the world is he ever going to do that in a game?'
"And that's what you see from Kane as well. The ability to do things in practice at full speed and then do them in a game when somebody's trying to take your head off - I give 'em credit for doing it. Because the majority of us, we couldn't do those things in practice with nobody trying to check us."
The top three goal-scorers in Hawks history are Bobby Hull (604), Stan Mikita (541) and Steve Larmer (407). Kane figures to catch Larmer early next season and may end up passing Mikita and Hull in the middle of this decade.
Assuming he signs another deal with the Hawks, that is.
Savard, who was fired by the Hawks after coaching the fourth game of the 2008-09 season, chuckles at the notion that he had much to do with helping Kane develop into a superstar. He basically just let a young deer loose and told him, 'Go have fun, kid.'
"The only thing I had going with him was I'm going to play him," said Savard, who won a Stanley Cup with Montreal in 1993 and finished with 473 goals. "Don't worry about making mistakes. Come here and have a smile on your face every day. Only thing I'm going to ask is (for you) to play hard.'
"And that's never been a question with him."
Kane's never forgotten that advice. Or that season. Or Savard.
And it's a huge reason why - even more than a decade later - he always speaks so glowingly of his former coach.
"He just kind of let us run the first year," Kane said. "Even if we made mistakes, he kind of let us learn on the go. Obviously we were very fortunate for that. Good mentor (and) obviously he's been a great friend ever since.
"A guy that we all look up to in here."
By the numbers
Most goals in Hawks history
Player Goals
1. Bobby Hull 604
2. Stan Mikita 541
3. Steven Larmer 406
4. Patrick Kane 380
5. Denis Savard 377
6. Jonathan Toews 336
7. Dennis Hull 298
8. Tony Amonte 268
9. Jeremy Roenick 267
10. Bill Mosienko 258
SOURCE: Blackhawks