CHICAGO — Patrick Kane called the trade of former teammate Brandon Hagel “shocking” — it was the first of three by Monday’s trade deadline — but he wasn’t ready to reevaluate his future with the Chicago Blackhawks.
“Not right now,” Kane said after scoring a goal in the Hawks’ 4-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center Wednesday. “That’s a discussion for another day or over the summer, whatever it is.
“I’m happy that I’m here right now. Just going to try to finish out the season strong.”
Earlier in the day, Jonathan Toews — Kane’s partner in three Stanley Cup victories — took a sharper tone in reaction to the trades of Hagel, a versatile and well-liked young forward, scrappy fourth-liner Ryan Carpenter and venerated goalie Marc-André Fleury, the first reigning Vezina Trophy winner to be traded on deadline day in NHL history.
“I think it’s become pretty clear the direction we’re heading in as a franchise and I’m not going to lie, it was disheartening to see a couple of your really good friends go regardless of what’s to come in the future,” Toews said.
And he took it a step further.
“I wouldn’t say it makes me question it as much as, for the longest time, the thought never entered my mind to leave Chicago,” Toews said. “And in this case, you can’t help but picture yourself and what it’d be like to play for another team and what that experience would bring. That pops into your mind obviously, but again, Chicago’s my home, I love the Blackhawks, I love the organization, it’s been my family for a long time, and I’m not putting the cart before the horse or getting ahead of myself in any way.”
Like Toews, Kane said he was troubled by the Hagel trade.
“You know it’s tough to lose a guy like Hagel for sure,” Kane said. “The way he played the game, I think the energy he brought to the team, but also the energy he brought to the room. Sometimes you think about it more as you’re losing a really good friend. It’s tough in that sense.
“It is what it is, and it’s a business. They said they were going to rebuild. It seemed like that was a bit of a shocking move, but seemed like anything was on the table after that.”
Toews said he felt new general manager Kyle Davidson has kept team leaders like himself in the loop.
“We talked to him after he was named GM, but I’m sure we’ll have discussions going forward, too.”
Asked if he has clearer sense now of what the rebuild means, Kane laughed, “You’re talking to the wrong guy, man.”
Coach Derek King expressed shock when Hagel was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday — a deal that netted two conditional first-round picks and forwards Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk.
But he likened Toews’ reaction to venting.
“He’s an emotional guy,” King said. “He’s going to speak like that, he has every right to. And that’s hard. He’s won three Cups and he wants to win another one and all of a sudden he’s in a rebuild. The guys that maybe you thought would be part of that rebuild get traded. His emotions took over and he wasn’t happy about it, but that’s Jonathan, right?
“Just guys showing their emotions, nothing wrong with that.”
