NHL star winger Patrick Kane underwent hip resurfacing surgery on Thursday that will require four to six months of recovery before being allowed back on the ice.
Kane noted this past Stanley Cup Playoffs with the New York Rangers was tough as he dealt with a lingering injury that we now know was his hip.
Kane, at times, looked like a shell of his offense-creating self and wasn’t the X-factor the Rangers hoped he’d be when they traded for him with the Chicago Blackhawks before the NHL trade deadline.
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Now, Kane is an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his NHL career after spending his first 16 seasons with the Blackhawks, earning four All-Star nods and winning three Stanley Cups in the process, before being traded this past February.
Kane, 34, could now see his free-agent pursuit affected after needing this surgery. However, as The Athletic points out, Kane believes he can get back to his old self if he’s not busy worrying about how his body is holding up.
BLACKHAWKS TRADE FRANCHISE LEGEND PATRICK KANE TO RANGERS AFTER 16 SEASONS IN CHICAGO: REPORTS
"I still know that I can be a top player if my focus is solely on hockey instead of how I feel that day," Kane said last month.
There’s no doubt that Kane, who has 1,237 career points with 451 goals and 786 assists, will have teams interested. He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer when his career is over, and teams could use the Buffalo, N.Y., native’s savvy when the puck is on his stick in the offensive zone.
The Rangers may want him to run it back with them, however, how much they shell out for someone like Kane who might not be available to start the season would likely be low.
In fact, Kane’s price tag may be lower than his accolades say because of the injury history.
Nonetheless, Kane’s surgery is fixing an issue that didn’t allow him to play his best when it mattered most in the playoffs (the Rangers were bounced in the first round to the rival New Jersey Devils).
NHL free agency officially starts July 1.
