Chicago Blackhawks: Patrick Kane's Possible Growing Pains

Patrick Kane had a season of ups and downs for the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2010-11 campaign.  As a result, the 22-year old winger has been at the center of trade chat by fans of the organization.

Is this 2007 first overall draft pick in need of some maturing on and off the ice? Let's take a closer look at Kane's recent season.

Kane capped off his best season to date by scoring the goal that won the Stanley Cup for the 'Hawks; he helped bring the city of Chicago it's first cup in nearly 50 years; he's a young, single guy.

Is anyone surprised he hoisted a few after hoisting the cup this summer?

Stories of his late-night exploits apparently rivaled Elvis sightings this past offseason.  To the best of my knowledge, none of these stories ever ended in an arrest.

Can the argument be made that Kane's preparation for the 2010-11 season was as diligent as in past seasons? Of course. On the other hand, that argument can be made for most of the returning Blackhawks.

For the season, Kane had 27 goals and 46 assists for 73 points. Those numbers are down from 2009-10, but not by much when you consider that he missed nine games and most of a tenth this season.

Kane suffered a high ankle sprain on his first shift in the Hawks December 5th game with Calgary. He missed the remainder of that contest as well as eight more games.

When the injury occurred, I remember thinking that it would likely hinder Kane for a while even after he got back on the ice. Ankles, even 22-year old ankles, don't heal completely until the offseason.  Kane admitted that he felt the effects of the injury throughout the season.

Let's look at Kane's numbers before and after the injury.

Pre-injury (28 games): 11 goals, 16 assists

Post-injury (45 games): 16 goals, 30 assists

Kane came back rather quickly from the injury, returning December 28th.  He struggled to find the net his first 15 games in the lineup, then had 14 goals and 24 assists in his last 35 games.

Here are Kane's stats for the first 28 and final 45 regular season games a year ago.

First 28:  9 goals, 18 assists

Last 45:17 goals, 32 assists

Compared to the season before, those are pretty similar numbers.

Give Kane those games missed due to the ankle, and it's likely he posts very similar numbers to his breakout season in 2009-10. In short, he was derailed a bit following a fairly serious injury to a skater who is built for speed, but recovered to match last year's production.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was of the belief that Kane would make a jump this season.  However, I thought that would happen to many guys. The only Blackhawks forwards who saw their numbers go up substantially from the cup season were Tomas Kopecky, Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews.

Kopecky nearly doubled his ice time this season, so his stats are easily explained.  Sharp's offensive production came at the expense of his play on the back end. Toews played four more games than last year and scored nine more goals and had one more assist that 2009-10.

I'm not saying Toews or Sharp didn't have monster seasons; I'm pointing out that Kane isn't washed up because his numbers didn't surge to the 100-point realm.

He missed time this year; he wasn't as effective on the power play; he seemed to be less inclined to get off a shot at times.

On the other hand, he improved on the back check as the year went on and came back early from an injury that the team thought would keep him out for up to six weeks.

Did he enjoy himself over the summer? Most definitely.

Does he still have room for improvement?  I would hope so.

Is it time to give up on a number-one pick because he's not Denis Savard? Not on your life.

Trading Kane would be a short-sighted move to say the least. Kane has played one season on his five-year contract extension. Why would the organization change course after a season that, judging from the numbers and taking the injury into account, was similar to past performance?

Patrick Kane is a young scorer and distributor on the wing who is going to have trouble with physical defense. That's been the case in the course of his four-year career and it's not going to change. It doesn't seem to stop him from being a point a game player. Those players don't grow on trees.

While I am firmly against trading Kane, I don't deny the fans right to demand improvement from this young player.

He's 22. He has growing up to do, but few players that age don't. Let's just see him grow up in a Blackhawks sweater.