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Patrick Kane feeling optimistic about returning from surgery on time

Vancouver Canucks v Chicago Blackhawks - Game Four

CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 19: Patrick Kane #88 of the Chicago Blackhawks looks to pass against the Vancouver Canucks in Game Four of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the United Center on April 19, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. The Blackhawks defeated the Canucks 7-2. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

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Patrick Kane’s surgically repaired left wrist might be the one compelling thing left for Blackhawks fans this summer. After getting his wrist operated on earlier this summer, time is ticking away until he’s due to be back in action and ready to go. With training camp starting up soon, all eyes are on Kane to see when he’ll be joining the rest of the team back on the ice for full activities.

Right now, Kane is busy doing a lot of the little things, but he tells CSNChicago.com’s Tracey Myers that he’s not fully ready to start doing everything a highly skilled scorer can do when handling the stick and the puck. He’s still got a splint on his hand but that will go away soon... Just not yet.

“Right now when I’m on the ice, I’m taking backhands here or there, but I’m not pushing it too much,” he said. “I haven’t tried (shooting). They told me not to shoot pucks, just stick handling. I’m sure once this is off I can shoot.”

Kane said he’s currently taking the splint off five times a day to exercise the wrist. It’s getting limber again as he keeps trying to get the range of motion back. If he can play four preseason games like he did last September, great. That’s his goal.

“It’s three weeks (from the start of camp) until home opener. That should be enough time to get back into shape with the left arm and shooting pucks,” he said. “I definitely want to use training camp to my advantage.”


Three weeks time for a guy that’s a well-oiled machine of a player should be enough time for him to be ready to go at 100% for the season opener. Getting some action in during preseason will help that all along, but only that real game action will show just how ready his wrist is. Shooting pucks and stickhandling in practice will only show off so much and going up against opposing defenders will show how much rust, if any, he’s got in his game.

With how the Blackhawks are built for this year, Kane’s offensive production will be necessary all year long. While the team is a lot tougher now, losing any big scorer like Kane for an extended amount of time will force Chicago to tighten their game up more to keep opponents off the board and help keep goalie Corey Crawford sane. Kane taking care of his business should allow Chicago to not have to worry about that just yet.