Toews and Kane Play 1,000th Game Together – What’s Next?

It wasn’t fitting that Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews played their 1,000th game together on the Chicago Blackhawks in a 7-1 loss to the New York Rangers.

The long-time teammates, sometimes linemates, will be remembered as the flag carriers of the Blackhawks three Stanley Cup championships from 2010 to 2015.

They led the charge.

Before the arrival of Toews and Kane, the Blackhawks hadn’t won a Stanley Cup since 1961 when another famous twosome Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita were at the front of the charge.

When Kane was asked about the milestone before the historic night, he joked that it felt more like “2,000” games together. The Blackhawks were not a competitive team when they were drafted a year apart. Toews was drafted No. 3 overall in 2006 and Kane went No. 1 in 2007. Their arrival fueled success.

But now they are on a rebuilding team again. The Blackhawks have traded away several quality players in the name of the team getting worse to become better.

Toews and Kane are probably the next to go.

They are the 11th set of teammates to play 1,000 games together. But that number isn’t likely to grow too much higher.

Each of them is in the last season of his contract and both are expected to be traded as rental properties. There has been considerable speculation about the New York Rangers trying to trade for Patrick Kane to reunite him with Artemi Panarin. Last week, Boston Hockey Now reported the Bruins’ interest in Kane.

The Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets are thought to be interested in Toews. The Avalanche need a No. 2 center behind Nathan MacKinnon and Toews is from Manitoba.

Toews and Kane have played great hockey together. They can both still play. But not likely together. They each make $10.5 million. Even if the Blackhawks retain some salary, no team has the cap space to acquire both of them.

🙏 Pietrangelo's daughter expected to make full recovery, Alex returns to Golden Knights. Golden Knights assistant captain Alex Pietrangelo returned to practice Saturday morning after taking a 9-game absence. His 4-year-old daughter, Evelyn, is now expected to make a full recovery after losing her motor skills due to a brain lesion that formed after developing encephalitis from the flu.

8️⃣4️⃣ The NHL could expand regular season to 84 games. First reported by ESPN on Friday, the slightly lengthened schedule aims to guarantee more games against division rivals, who sometimes only face one another three times. Of course, the NHLPA would need to agree to the new schedule which would likely include a shorter training camp and fewer preseason games.

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