The Best Thing Patrick Kane Could Bring to Toronto Isn't Scoring
There is some trade rumour chatter that the Toronto Maple Leafs could be a landing spot for Patrick Kane. It's interesting because, whenever Kane's name comes up in connection with the Maple Leafs, the first question is always the same. Can he still score?
It's a fair question. Kane isn't 25 anymore. He's 37. Father Time has a way of catching everyone, even players who once seemed capable of making the puck do whatever they wanted. But I wonder if we're asking the wrong question.
What can Kane bring to the Maple Leafs that has value?
Maybe the best thing Patrick Kane could bring to Toronto has nothing to do with goals or assists. Maybe it's Gavin McKenna.
One of the more charming stories after McKenna was drafted by the Maple Leafs was his admission that Patrick Kane had texted him. McKenna didn't try to play it cool, either. He simply said Kane was his idol. There's something refreshing about that. We sometimes forget that NHL players grow up as fans, too. Before they become stars, they have posters on their bedroom walls and favourite players whose highlights they watch over and over again.
McKenna’s idol happened to be Patrick Kane. Now imagine those two wearing the same sweater. Not because Kane needs McKenna. Quite the opposite.
Related: Don't Be Surprised If Scott Laughton Returns to Toronto.
Kane can’t teach McKenna to be a good hockey player; he already is.
McKenna already has all the talent in the world. Nobody is bringing Kane to Toronto to teach him how to stickhandle or find the top corner on a wrist shot. What Kane has learned over nearly two decades in the NHL can't be taught in a practice drill.
He knows how to survive an 82-game season. He knows how to handle the pressure that comes with being the player everyone is watching. He knows how to respond after a terrible game and how not to get too high after a great one. Those lessons usually come the hard way.
Every elite young prospect comes with talent; but wisdom is learned over many seasons.
Every young player eventually discovers that talent gets you into the NHL. Wisdom is what keeps you there.
The Maple Leafs have understood that idea before. Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton weren’t signed because anyone expected them to score 30 goals. Mark Giordano wasn't valued only for what he did on the ice. Sometimes a veteran's greatest contribution happens in the dressing room, on the bench, or during a quiet conversation after practice.
Patrick Kane could fit that mould. Would he still help on the power play? Probably. Could he still produce offensively? Don't bet against him.
McKenna’s need for mentoring shouldn’t be discounted.
But if a few years from now Gavin McKenna becomes the player everyone believes he can be, don’t be surprised if part of that story includes a season spent learning alongside the player he once called his hockey idol. Sometimes the most valuable addition to a hockey team isn't measured on the scoresheet.
Sometimes it's measured in the player someone else becomes.