The Chicago Blackhawks are once again trending toward slogging through a long season. But one star player keeps making history.
Chicago may have lost 4-1 on Friday night to the Montreal Canadiens, but Patrick Kane came one step closer to hitting the 900-assist milestone. It came at the 4:23 mark of the first period when Kane provided the helper on Connor Bedard’s second goal of the season.
After a second or two of chaos, Kane collected the puck in the neutral zone and quickly passed to Bedard. Bedard had just one Canadiens skater to beat before he launched a snap shot at the net to put the Blackhawks up 1-0. It was Kane’s fifth assist of the season and the 897th of his career.
During the NHL’s Frozen Frenzy, Kane tied Phil Housley for the most assists by an American-born player. He surpassed Housley on Oct. 15 vs. the Winnipeg Jets. In the very near future, Kane will stand alone as the only American-born player to hit the 900-assist mark.
Patrick Kane Remains An Effective Player For The Chicago Blackhawks
Kane may be in his age-38 season, but he hasn’t slowed down much with six points and five assists in 10 games. That may only put him on an 84-game pace to post between 50 and 51 points, but that’s more of a reflection on the Blackhawks than it is on Kane.
Heading into Friday night’s matchup, Chicago was 28th in the NHL with 21 goals in nine games. Following their loss to the Canadiens, the Blackhawks have 22 goals in 10 games, or 2.2 per contest. As it stands, they are on pace to score 185 goals.
Despite the meager numbers, Kane has been heating up. Five of his six points have come in his previous six games. Kane has also shown durability early on, averaging 19:36 of ice time per contest. That is Kane’s highest total since his age-34 season in 2022-23, the final year of his first stint with Chicago.
900 Assists Will Further Strengthen Patrick Kane’s Resume
Kane’s Hall-of-Fame career is one of the most, if not the most, decorated among American-born players, and 900 assists add to that. Then, the road to 1,000 will begin. Kane’s first-line minutes in 2026-27 and the fact that he is getting hot amidst a trying season for the Chicago Blackhawks imply that he will likely surpass the 42 helpers he is projected to snag this season.
With five assists in his last six games, and with 74 games left on the slate, that number puts Kane on pace to land between 61 and 62 more helpers in 2026-27. Most likely, the real number will fall between the 42 he is on an 84-game pace for and the 61.5 he is on a 74-game-remaining pace for.
Suppose Kane produces enough that he ends the year with 950 career assists, which would give him 58 total assists in 84 games — assuming he plays in all of them. That number puts him well within striking distance of landing 1,000 career assists. 900 helpers certainly pad the resume, but Kane, as of right now, looks like he can make even more history once he eventually surpasses the 900-mark.
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