Patrick Kane Center Experiment Appears To Be Over

Published: 10^th Jan 12 12:29 am

Randy Holt
Randy Holt

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Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE

When the Blackhawks were without Patrick Sharp in the weeks leading up to the preseason, the team launched the grand experiment to discover whether or not Patrick Kane could be serviceable as the team’s second line center.

Initially, the project was a success. Kane’s playmaking ability was perfectly suited for the middle, and even his defense, which was an initial concern, was pretty decent.

Of course, that faded eventually, but Kane wasn’t needed at center with the emergence of Marcus Kruger. Kruger’s performance earned him an increase in playing time and he jumped up to that second line, in between Sharp and Marian Hossa, allowing Kane to move back up to the second line.

Kruger didn’t put up points in the role, but he performed well on the ice. Then he went down with his concussion issues, which he sustained against the Penguins before going back down thanks to Rick Nash and the Blue Jackets. Who knew how important he actually was to this lineup?

With Kruger down, the team was lacking a second line option again, which prompted Joel Quenneville to try him again next to Hossa, as the two had good chemistry earlier in the year.

It didn’t work. Neither did Kane’s defense. Even before moving back to the middle, Kane was caught in a pretty decent slump, which was only made worse by the move back to center. He’s still in that slump, but it looks like the Hawks have finally ended their little experiment.

The main indication of that is the fact that it was Michael Frolik was centering the second line on Sunday night. Frolik has been contributing in other ways, but he’s been a ghost offensively, which means the Hawks are really starved for a presence in the middle on that line.

They’ve also tried rookies Andrew Shaw and Brandon Pirri, the latter of which is back in Rockford for the time being.

The Hawks are going to have to make a move for a veteran guy in that role. He doesn’t even have to be flashy. But with Patrick Sharp out, their top six just got a whole lot thinner. They’ll need Kruger back sooner rather than later, but the more important thing is that Kane is going to start having to find the back of the net again.

Hopefully a permanent move back to wing helps to expedite the process of ending Kane’s slump.