The Chicago Blackhawks were defeated on Friday by the St. Louis Blues. It was a tough game on the road, but it's a quick turnaround for this young team. Next up for the Blackhawks is a game against the Detroit Red Wings at home. That means another return to the United Center for Chicago sports legend Patrick Kane. Kane and the Red Wings are 17-12-3, which is good enough to occupy a playoff spot for the time being. Finally breaking through and making it would end a long drought for Detroit, which was previously known for making it every single year, no matter what. Patrick Kane has become an important piece to what they are doing in Detroit. He isn't a young buck that they are building around, but he is a legendary veteran who has plenty of hockey wisdom to pass down to young players. All of that experience came as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks, where he became one of the greatest to ever live. Before becoming a member of the Red Wings, the Blackhawks traded Kane to the New York Rangers. This was a three-team transaction on February 28th, 2023, that sent Kane to the Rangers ahead of their run to the playoffs. New York's efforts failed, as they were eliminated in the first round by the New Jersey Devils, and Kane left for the Red Wings in free agency that summer. In the deal, the Blackhawks also sent Cooper Zech to the Rangers. The third team in the deal, the Arizona Coyotes, sent Vili Saarijarvi to the Blackhawks. Arizona got a 2025 3rd-round pick from New York for being the facilitator of the deal. From the Rangers, the Blackhawks received a 2nd round pick in 2023, a 4th round pick in 2025, and Andy Welinski. It was an okay haul at the time for Kane, being a highly-paid unrestricted free agent on a losing team. Kane didn't help the Rangers get over the hump. Zech never played for them and won't. The same goes for Welinski and Saarijarvi for the Blackhawks. So it comes down to the draft picks when evaluating the winner of the deal. With the picks that New York gave Chicago, they drafted Martin Misiak and Parker Holmes. Those are good prospects, but they are likely not going to be guys that move the needle. As for that third-round pick that went to the Coyotes, who later became the Utah Mammoth, it was traded to the Detroit Red Wings so that the Mammoth could land Olli Maatta. You can argue that the Utah Mammoth were actually the winners of the Patrick Kane trade. Maatta always left more to be desired in his time as an NHL player, but he is a serviceable NHL defenseman when he's healthy. At this point, that is more than the Blackhawks or Rangers received in this deal over the long term. If Kane had stuck around with New York, this conversation would be very different. The Misiak and Holmes picks made by Chicago could change the narrative in the coming years, but for now, it's fair to say the Hawks didn't get what they were hoping for when they traded the greatest player who ever played for them. Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/7256c132-0a36-4ded-b361-60fdf60e8cc9.jpeg] Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/] team site to stay updated on the latest news [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators/latest-newshttps://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/latest-news], game-day [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators/game-dayhttps://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/game-day] coverage, player features [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators/playershttps://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/players], and more. For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
