What the Patrick Kane acquisition means to the New York Rangers (and this lifelong fan) by Hank Indictor
It has been a few weeks since the trade has been made, but you know what? Don’t think for a minute that I’m going to just not say anything about Patrick Kane being a New York Ranger!
From a personal standpoint, I have been a fan of Patrick Kane since very early in his career when he was with the Chicago Blackhawks. Imagine telling me when I was a teenager that one day Patrick Kane would not only be a New York Ranger, but he would complement a team that was already extremely talented. Or for that matter, imagine telling me in my early 20s that both Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko would both be Rangers, in addition to Artemi Panarin. There's a chance I’d probably be laughing in your face, but then shortly thereafter fantasize about that possibility and think to myself, "Man I wish this was real!"
But to truly put this perspective, when I was young and had just discovered that NHL existed, I often played games like NHL 2003 on my old GameCube back in the day and would always find ways to win the cup. So imagine how disappointed I was when I discovered that that particular real-life roster that had names like Eric Lindros, Pavel Bure, Mike Richter, Mark Messier, Petr Nedved, Brian Leetch and Alexei Kovalev didn’t even make the playoffs (thanks Glen Sather!).
Granted, a fraction of the names I mentioned were on the team in 1994, so I also learned the hard way that they were at the end. But still, you get where I’m from. The fact of the matter is once upon a time many big names in the NHL went to the Rangers for all the wrong reasons such as Lindros, Bure and Chris Drury (who I’ve ironically praised to death for his work as their current GM). And don't even get me started on Wade Redden, who was so bad that the senile grandpa Sather sent his bloated contract to the minors, which led to a rule change!
This also isn't even getting into the failed ex-Devil experiments like Bobby Holik and Scott Gomez (partially why New Jersey is my least favorite NHL franchise, but that's neither here nor there).
So in other words, growing up I learned the hard way that the Rangers have a not-so-illustrious 95-year history, and a talented team like the one in 1994 (and even 1992 for that matter) was one I could only really dream of. But when the letter happened, everything changed, you can learn more about that here (https://www.etbpodcasts.com/blog/five-years-since-the-letter-are-the-rangers-better-off-by-hank-indictor).
And nowadays those who want to come to the Rangers come because they want to win. And in fact, Kane pretty much begged the Blackhawks to trade him here after the Tarasenko trade. Patrick Kane may not quite be in his prime, but ever since he joined the Rangers, his impact has shown and his numbers have taken a significant upgrade because he is part of a top-6 that features the likes of Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Vincent Trochek and fellow acquisition Tarasenko.
But beyond what he's done on the ice, what the Rangers got is someone who knows what it takes to win. After all, he won three cups in Chicago, and can provide veteran leadership to the young players who already got the taste of a long run just one year prior. The entire Kid Line has been on record saying that they idolized Kane growing up, so that can only help them going forward!
Now is it 100% certain that the long overdue Cup will return to Broadway? I don't know. But I’m very optimistic about the potential, and if you're a diehard Rangers fan, you should be too!