CHICAGO -- At the end of last season, Patrick Kane wasn't happy. The Chicago Blackhawks had missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade. Though the right winger was once again an All-Star, putting up 27 goals and 76 points, it was a drop-off from his 46-goal, 106-point MVP campaign just two years earlier.
"I didn't feel very good body-wise," Kane says now. "And I didn't feel very good mindset-wise."
As he'd be entering his age-30 season in the fall, with his team at a crossroads, Kane needed to reinvigorate himself.