CHICAGO — Patrick KaneHe laughed at the number and smiled before shaking his head. He was going to take the lure. He wanted to. Do you really believe he thinks there are at most 34 better players than he in the league? NHLAs The Athletic’s player tiers claimed? Maybe as many as 41
Another joke.
“Obviously, I’d like to be higher,” he said. “I don’t know, I think I’m better than that.”
Kane has been such a fixture among the world’s elite for so long that it becomes easy to take him for granted. He’s undoubtedly the best and most accomplished U.S.-born player the game’s ever seen, though Auston MatthewsHe will continue to vie for the title in the coming years. He could be the greatest player in history. Blackhawks history, with all due respect to Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull, whose numbers still dwarf Kane’s.
And for the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately crowd that’s long moved past the three championships, the Hart Trophy, the Conn Smythe and the Calder, only Connor McDavidAnd Leon Draisaitl have more points over the last four seasons than Kane, whose points-per-game total is identical to Matthews’ 1.24 in that span.
