JagerMeister Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 If Patrick Kane wins the Art Ross this year (and maybe a Pearson and MVP but that's seemingly implausible right now) where would he rank among the greatest American Born hockey players?And would this hardware be enough for Kane to be considered better than Toews? An Art Ross and a Conn Smythe seems convincing.Edit: this isn't intended as one of my Toews bashing threads. In fact, before this current year, I believed Jonathan Toews to be evidently superior. He was better at everything but offense, yet I even questioned that because Toews always prioritizes two way play before offense. While Kane only prioritizes offense. Toews also faces the best players the opposing team has to offer, while kanes minutes were quite easy in contrast to what Toews does. But the Art Ross is a significant award that can perhaps have him considered as equal to Toews in value or in consideration at least. So as much as I think Toews is overrated by the Media and by some fans, ill concede to all of thatt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 @JagerMeister I think Kanes going to have to play a few more years before he gets into "greatest of alltime" territory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenThirteenFifteen Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I am very proud to see what Patrick Kane has been able to do this year. If he is able to continue to play at his highest level and stay healthy I believe he could be considered the best American hockey player ever. He was a very big part of three Stanley Cup championships. And not only has his offense been better than ever this season, I believe he has looked better defensively than he's ever looked as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hf101 Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 I am very proud to see what Patrick Kane has been able to do this year. If he is able to continue to play at his highest level and stay healthy I believe he could be considered the best American hockey player ever. He was a very big part of three Stanley Cup championships. And not only has his offense been better than ever this season, I believe he has looked better defensively than he's ever looked as well. Nice First Post! Welcome Having such a focused season after all of the disruptions this past off season has really helped the overall perception of Kane, and that is a credit to his work ethic and team. He's all ready has the American record for longest scoring streak, and he is well on his way to the best scoring records of Brett Hull and Mike Modano. Hull has 1391 points in 1269 games and currently Kane has 727 points in 733 games. Given Kane is 27 years old and if he can play at this pace for 9 more years at a pace of 75 goals per season including playoffs, he will overtake Hull in points. This would be quite impressive considering Hull played in an era where the number of goals / game average was higher than it has been for all of Kane's career thus far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 @hf101 Well, Kane was actually born in the states and developed his game there, so he has that going for him for best American player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JagerMeister Posted December 17, 2015 Author Share Posted December 17, 2015 I am very proud to see what Patrick Kane has been able to do this year. If he is able to continue to play at his highest level and stay healthy I believe he could be considered the best American hockey player ever. He was a very big part of three Stanley Cup championships. And not only has his offense been better than ever this season, I believe he has looked better defensively than he's ever looked as well. Best American Forward? Definitely plausible. However, its difficult to dethrone the best American player ever seeing as his longevity is eclipsed by only Howe, and his 3 Norris trophies with competition such as Ray Bourque, Paul Coffey, Scott Stevens, Brian Leetch... Also, If Kane wins the art ross. It would still be ambiguous who the best American forward is. Mike Modano has longevity, played the opposing top lines, and excelled at defense that he was a selke candidate multiple times. And there is Pat Lafontaine, arguably the greatest offensive season by an American forward ever, who came second only to Lemieux. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 I'd caution against getting too carried away about one outstanding season. He's had a fine career already and one first team all-star selection, but just a couple of seasons won't make him the best ever American. I'll throw this out there too. I'd still take Toews overall as far as career performance goes, even considering this season. He's easily the more complete player, and I value a well-rounded game from a forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JagerMeister Posted December 29, 2015 Author Share Posted December 29, 2015 I'd caution against getting too carried away about one outstanding season. He's had a fine career already and one first team all-star selection, but just a couple of seasons won't make him the best ever American. I'll throw this out there too. I'd still take Toews overall as far as career performance goes, even considering this season. He's easily the more complete player, and I value a well-rounded game from a forward. Oh definitely, but if he wins the art ross this year, would he rank among the best American players? He would be the first American to win an Art Ross I believe. And he is one of the most accomplished American players when taking into consideration individual accolades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Oh definitely, but if he wins the art ross this year, would he rank among the best American players? He would be the first American to win an Art Ross I believe. And he is one of the most accomplished American players when taking into consideration individual accolades. It boosts his case, but I think there would still be several guys ahead of him. I'd have to do more digging to give you a more precise answer though. Btw, while mentioning great Americans, let's not leave out Brian Leetch. So far, he's gone unmentioned other than in reference to Chelios' competition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 I think of Brett Hull as "Canadian turncoat" more so than American. (But that's a topic for another thread.) So let's say his closest competition is Modano, Roenick, Chelios, etc....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JagerMeister Posted December 29, 2015 Author Share Posted December 29, 2015 It boosts his case, but I think there would still be several guys ahead of him. I'd have to do more digging to give you a more precise answer though. Btw, while mentioning great Americans, let's not leave out Brian Leetch. So far, he's gone unmentioned other than in reference to Chelios' competition. Chelios, Leetch, Brimsek, Modano, Lafontaine, Langway, and Roenick are the only players I can say with certainty, that I rank over Kane. He has eclipsed Mullen already IMO. And surpassing Roenick, Modano and Lafontaine is plausible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 Sure about the Art Ross but it looks like they are rolling now which can't be good for teams out west....just won their 10th straight. Pretty good once you consider how much roster turnover has happened with this club since their last Cup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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