The National Hockey League is absolutely loaded with elite scoring wingers that make the game as exciting as it has ever been. The Chicago Blackhawks have had no shortage of good wingers over the years and they have been led by Patrick Kane.
Kane, of course, is one of the greatest players in NHL history. He has been a Stanley Cup champion three times, won a playoff MVP, a regular season MVP, and a scoring title to go with many other accolades along the way.
After all these years, he is still one of the best at his position. The NHL Network came out with their list of the top 20 wingers in the league right now going into 2022 and Patrick Kane is on the list. He even cracked the top-ten sitting at number ten on the dot.
You can argue him higher or lower depending on what you look at but it is good to still see him among the elite in the league. Most of the players around him on the list are much younger but Kane still keeps pumping out elite season after elite season.
Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks made the top-20 NHL wingers list.
Right around Kane are guys like Brad Marchand (9), David Pastrnak (11), and Matthew Tkachuk (12). All of those guys can go in any order because they are all so great. You have to split hairs to separate them for whatever reason.
Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is on pace to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record over the next couple of years and he is still sitting at the number one spot. Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild sit at two and three and could easily be one.
There are also some former Blackhawks wingers on the list as well and both of them loved playing with Patrick Kane. Artemi Panarin, now of the New York Rangers, sits at number 8 and it can be argued that he deserves to be even higher than that.
Alex DeBrincat is also on this list. He has yet to play a game in a different sweater but will certainly play for the Ottawa Senators this season. He deserves this recognition as he is also one of the very best wings in the NHL. A great career is on the horizon for him.
Patrick Kane only has one year left on his current contract so even his Blackhawks’ career is cloudy. We have to hope that he continues to play well so that he can either be traded for a haul or help rebuild this team.
It is good to see him get this type of recognition because he is one of the few remaining bright spots on the team right now. It will be tough if they trade him but it is fair to enjoy him while he is still there. This is going to be a bad team but Kane will continue to be a shining star.