Patrick Kane will miss dishing to the bread man.
The Chicago Blackhawks blew the roof off earlier in the offseason when they dealt former Calder Trophy winner Artemi Panarin to the Columbus Blue Jackets for former Blackhawk Brandon Saad.
It was the Blackhawks' and Stan Bowman's attempt to bulk up and change the complexion of the roster, but Kane will miss the chemistry he and Panarin had developed over the last two seasons.
"I'd be lying to you if I was sitting up here saying I wasn’t disappointed when it first went down, no doubt about it,’" Kane said, according to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. ‘‘Artemi's a great kid, someone I got along with really well off the ice and had that chemistry with on the ice. It was just fun to play with him every night. I'll miss him, for sure."
With Panarin now out of the picture, the question is who will Kane play with next season and going forward? Early indications are that Saad will reunite with captain Jonathan Toews, but as for Kane, he doesn't seem too worried about who will take Panarin's spot.
"Who knows what's going to happen?" Kane said. "I could have better chemistry with a guy like (Nick) Schmaltz or better chemistry with someone like (Ryan) Hartman. And I know I played well with (Patrick) Sharp in the past, too. I’m looking forward to the season and the next challenge."
Over the last two seasons, Kane has paced the league with 195 points, while Panarin sits seventh with 151 points. So, whoever Kane indeed plays with, there's no denying it won't be the same without Panarin.
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