For nearly six months, the greatest active American-born hockey player, the one fans call Showtime, lived in obscurity. As Patrick Kane recovered from hip resurfacing surgery — a bold move to breathe new life into his career at age 35 — he relocated his family to Toronto.
For three hours a day, Monday through Friday, Kane worked with chiropractor Ian MacIntyre, who oversaw the rehab. Then he got on the ice. Kane’s skating coach, Randi Milani, made sure his locker rooms at the local rinks were farthest away from the lobby. She insisted that LiveBarn, the ubiquitous arena streaming service, was turned off, and often reserved ice time under fake names. Sessions included Kane battling in drills with retired defenseman Cody Goloubef and shooting on free agent goalie Chris Gibson. Spectators who somehow caught wind were kindly told to get lost.
When it was finally time for Kane to meet with NHL suitors, a series of Zoom calls with teams interested in signing the free agent, one head coach remarked: “Wait, you were in Toronto, the center of the hockey universe, this whole time?
For Kane, it ushered in a new era. With his unique dangles, the winger has captivated the largest fans and won almost everything there is to win, including three Stanley Cups, league MVP, playoff MVP, and a scoring title. On the other hand, Kane claimed that “a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth after last year.”
Having spent 16 seasons with the faltering Chicago Blackhawks, Kane was traded, and his brief tenure with the New York Rangers was lacklustre by his standards. As the Rangers were ousted by the Devils in the opening round of the playoffs, Kane finished with six goals and 19 points in 26 games. “Going to New York was a new challenge for me,” Kane stated. “Although I was quite excited about it, neither the team nor I actually expected it to happen as planned. At that moment, I reasoned that it was probably time to take action so I could at least give myself an opportunity to return to a high level, if not physically then at least mentally. Although I don’t want to admit that I was unhappy, I was considering
Kane was prepared to completely destroy everything, choosing to undergo 116 treatment sessions to unlearn movement patterns instead of pursuing a surgery with minimal evidence of effectiveness in the NHL. Dangerous would be putting it mildly.
According to MacIntyre, “it was no man’s land in terms of what to expect.”
Kane’s confidence did not falter at all. When healthy, he still rates himself as one of the league’s best players. Kane was adamant that he could still contribute more. He so approached recovery with his own rigour and zeal.
Should Kane achieve the kind of success he anticipates, his reputation will only deepen and he may pave a new route for other athletes.
