At first Chicago GM Stan Bowman thought that Patrick Kane would be recovered from left wrist surgery in time to start training camp. Then Kane told Fan 590 radio in Toronto that he didn’t think he’d be ready for camp but would likely be ready to go for the season opener in October. Thank goodness we have doctors to help figure things out.
With Blackhawks camp starting up on September 15th, getting a clearer idea of when Kane would be ready to go would be helpful. After all, we’re just a few weeks away from things getting underway and starting camp off with this little bit of uncertainty would be a bit tricky for the team.
Kane visited with his doctor as well as team officials and... Well, it appears they played the part of King Solomon in this confusion. The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Kuc gets the scoop from Kane himself.
This is good news for Chicago because training camp is instrumental in getting guys set for the rigors of the season and being ready to go right off the bat. If Kane had missed all of camp, the first couple weeks of the season would’ve been his time to shake off the rust and doing that in games that count could make the difference between winning the division or even making the playoffs at all.
Giving Kane that little bit of time to get ready for the season, even if he isn’t ready to go in camp from the get-go, should be what he needs to be ready to go. Chicago has high hopes this season and having everyone healthy is an absolute priority. Rushing Kane back before he was ready to go would defeat that purpose.