When it comes to legacy, Toews and Kane are Blackhawks icons that will forever hold an indelible place in both the history of the franchise and the hearts of its fanbase. But will Chicago's on-ice future include them moving forward?
Kyle Davidson promised a new era for the Chicago Blackhawks during the press conference, which introduced him last week as the team's new GM — brought on by a full-scale rebuild.
Davidson also said during the same press conference that franchise pillars Jonathan Toes and Patrick Kane would be involved in deciding the way forward.
However, it poses a problem - namely statements that contradict each other, and serves as another example of blackhawks trying to step into the future with one foot rooted in the past.
It should come as no surprise that Davidson will be talking about involving Toz and Kane in any major organizational decisions coming up in the next few weeks. No matter how many times their boss yells, the Blackhawks will never stop talking about 2010. They just can't help it. The committee that put Davidson in the GM chair included three former players, two of whom were members of that Stanley Cup-winning team in Patrick Sharp and Marion Hossa.
Chicago may have a new era on the horizon, but the premise on which it is being built is more and more influenced by the last one. This should change.
There is a difference between respecting the past and letting it decide the future.
When it comes to legacy, Toez and Ken Blackhawks are icons who will always hold an indelible place in both the history of the franchise and the hearts of its fans.
The pair's arrival in 2007 marked the Blackhawks' ascension as a franchise, pulling the team out of the pit of irrelevance that former owner Bill Wirtz buried them and quickly turning them into one of the closest things to the modern NHL. Got a dynasty.
Those laurels are more than deserving of jersey retirements, figurines and ready-made celebrations that delay the puck drop by 45 minutes when everyone else wants to get things done. And they'll likely get them too.
What they don't grant is the power to affect either player's on-ice product beyond their respective stints with the team—which, of course, is coming to an end.
There's a very good chance that Toez and Kane will leave after next season. In fact, it may even be unavoidable. The same eight-year, $84 million extension signed together in 2014 is set to expire next summer, making him an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career, at the ripe age of 34, with the prospect of returning to a team. is unlikely. Thick of massive reconstruction.
Even if money is no object, will the Blackhawks want to bring them back?
Kane is still a massively productive player in his own right, scoring upwards of a point-per-game in each of the last four seasons, and will likely be highly sought after in the open market, regardless of his age.
On the other hand, tow? Well, Captain Sirius hasn't had a similar run of success since entering his early 30s, mostly due to health, Toes sitting in 46 games this season with just four goals and 20 points, all The 2021 campaign has vanished with a chronic inflammatory response. syndrome.
While the way he got to this point may not be all that fair, it's a reality that can't be ignored: Toes is no longer the player he used to be. He's a shell of his former self — especially aggressively — on pace for the worst year of a career on a team that lives in a basement, and just missed several games at once.
Kane is likely on the open market looking for a paycheck and a cup ring that Chicago can't offer him, and Toes' health and ability deteriorating day by day, with the heat of 2023 bid farewell to both sides. There is a suitable point for bidding. ,
Why, then, would you give any player any meaningful power to shape the future of the team?
And these are only reasons related to hockey.
There is no evidence to prove that Toes or Ken had any knowledge of the horrors that were perpetrated by the Blackhawks at Kyle Beach in 2010. Both players have claimed to be completely unaware of the events in interviews on the matter as the beach's abuse has become public knowledge. , and has since seen the GM who gave him his hefty contract be forced to step down.
Whether they were aware of it at the time, Toez and Kane are still relics of an era from which the Blackhawks must move on. The organization had already participated in an openly reported GM search that prided itself on featuring diverse candidates from all walks of life, eventually going with an in-house hire who was actually an apprentice in 2010. As was with the team.
This "new era" is new in name only. It cannot be changed now. What can be changed, however, is the influence that defines itself as the next generation moves forward.
Toes and Ken will take their place among the legends of the Blackhawks franchise the moment their careers come to an end. Let the legacy they leave be as it is. And let a new wave of talent make its own.