Blackhawks’ Kane was almost as good as Crosby/Ovechkin
The Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane has been one of the league’s best since 2007.
Since the lockout in 2005, there has been a surplus of talent to enter the National Hockey League. The Chicago Blackhawks have reaped the benefits of that fact as they have added enough talent to win Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013, and 2015. It was an impressive modern-day dynasty let by some of the best players of the decade. One of those players that have been one of the league’s best players is Patrick Kane.
The two best players of the 2010s era were Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. Out of those two, they have combined for four Stanley Cups, three Conn Smythe Trophies, ten Rocket Richard Trophies as the league’s leading goal scorer, three scoring titles, and five MVPs.
It is a compliment to consider Patrick Kane amongst those two in the conversation for the best players of the era. Kane might be slightly short of those two but being in the conversations with them is the ultimate praise. All three of them were named “100 greatest players in NHL history” during the NHL’s centennial season.
Alexander Ovechkin has 706 goals and 572 assists for 1278 points in 1152 games. Sidney Crosby has 462 goals and 801 assists for 1263 points in 984 points. That level of scoring is absolutely ridiculous. There is little doubt that they are both top-ten players of all time. It has been fun to be alive during the era that these two guys were playing hockey.
Since being made the first overall pick in the 2007 NHL Draft, only Crosby and Ovechkin have more points than Kane. In that span, Ovechkin has 1080 points, Crosby has 1041 points, and Kane has 1022 points. They are the three leading scorers since that time. It is clear that Kane is almost as good as those two which is saying a lot about his production.
Related Story. Marian Hossa chased that Stanley Cup around for a while. light
All of them have the team success to go along with the level of regular-season success that they have all had. The seven Stanley Cups are all proof of that team’s success. They have all also won the playoff MVP, regular-season MVP, and led the league in points. A guy that played for Chicago is in the conversation with guys like that and it has been a treat to watch.