The St. Louis Blues are about to get reacquainted with a name that has long been a sore spot for their fan base.
The Chicago Blackhawks announced that Patrick Kane is coming back on a two-year, $16 million deal, setting up a return to the Central Division for one of the most familiar stars of the last decade. For Chicago, it brings back a player tied to three Stanley Cups and plenty of memories.
For St. Louis, it means the Blues’ most hated rival is back in the neighborhood.
That isn’t just a feeling, either. A Rotowire study on the most hated players in each state listed Kane as public enemy No. 1 in Missouri.
That makes sense when you look at the history. Kane was a central piece of those dominant Blackhawks teams that ruled the 2010s, and he was there when Chicago knocked the Blues out in the first round of the 2014 playoffs.
St. Louis eventually got its revenge a few years later, but the animosity never really went away.
Once the Blackhawks slid into their rebuild, Kane left the Central Division. Now he’s back, and that alone gives this rivalry a chance to feel alive again.
The NHL has spent plenty of time trying to breathe life into old rivalries, and this one has the ingredients. Division matchups help, but so does a player like Kane returning to Chicago after all those years. That kind of move can drag old emotions right back to the surface.
The Blues and Blackhawks will play four times next season, and December 4 looks like the date that could carry the most heat in St. Louis. The teams will also meet on October 6 at the United Center, a game that will at least give Blues fans an early look at what Kane’s return means before he comes back to Enterprise Center.
If there’s one reunion St. Louis would love to ruin, it’s Kane’s return to Chicago.
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Blues May Have Landed Their Biggest Draft Steal In Plain Sight
The Blues added a name late in the draft that has already started to draw a second look from evaluators, the kind of pick that can look ordinary on the surface and a whole lot more interesting once the post-draft lists start circulating. For St. Louis, the appeal is obvious enough: a forward with skill, drive and the sort of tenacity that can make a small frame matter if the rest of the game keeps coming along.
There is still the usual hurdle for players built this way, because undersized wingers have to do more than simply survive the climb to the NHL. The path for this one is narrow but clear, and if he is going to turn heads in St. Louis, it will likely come by forcing his way into a top-nine role and proving he can bring enough pace and bite to make the size question fade. [Read more 🡒]