Star NHL winger Patrick Kane underwent hip resurfacing surgery on Thursday that will require four to six months of recovery before he is allowed back on the ice.
Kane noted that the last few Stanley Cup Playoffs with the New York Rangers were difficult as he dealt with a nagging injury that we now know was his hip.
Kane, at times, seemed like a shell of his own offense creation and was not the X factor the Rangers had hoped he would be when they traded him to the Chicago Blackhawks before the NHL trade deadline.
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Adam Fox #23, Artemi Panarin #10, Chris Kreider #20 and Patrick Kane #88 of the New York Rangers celebrate a third period power play goal by Kreider against the New Jersey Devils during Game 1 in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Prudential Center on April 18, 2023, in Newark, New Jersey. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Now, Kane is an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his NHL career after spending his first 16 seasons with the Blackhawks, earning four All-Star Game nominations and winning three Stanley Cups in the process, before being traded in last february.
Kane, 34, could now see his free agent search affected after needing this surgery. However, as The Athletic points out, Kane believes he can go back to his old self if he isn’t busy worrying about how his body is holding up.
BLACKHAWKS TRADE FRANCHISE LEGEND PATRICK KANE TO RANGERS AFTER 16 SEASONS IN CHICAGO: REPORTS
«I still know I can be a great player if my attention is solely on hockey instead of how I feel that day,» Kane said last month.
There’s no question that Kane, who has 1,237 career points on 451 goals and 786 assists, will have interested teams. He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer when his career is over, and teams could use the intelligence of the Buffalo, New York native when the puck is on his stick in the offensive zone.
Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks controls the puck against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period at the United Center on February 21, 2023 in Chicago. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
The Rangers may want to get him back, but the amount they’ll shell out for someone like Kane, who might not be available to start the season, is likely to be low.
In fact, Kane’s price tag may be lower than his praise says because of his injury history.
However, Kane’s surgery is fixing a problem that kept him from playing his best when it mattered most in the playoffs (the Rangers were rebounded in the first round by the rival New Jersey Devils).
Patrick Kane of the New York Rangers warms up before Game 5 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on April 27, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Rich Graessle/NHLI via Getty Images)
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NHL free agency officially begins on July 1.