It all built up to June 16, 2015.
That was the true zenith of the Patrick Kane era with the Chicago Blackhawks, wasn’t it? Everything that happened in the eight years prior was a steady ascent toward that summit, a trek towards a state of sports euphoria so exhilarating that mere words are powerless in accurately depicting the feeling — it had to be felt, because it could not be explained.
Kane became part of the Blackhawks on June 22, 2007 as the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL Draft, arriving to a franchise that had been ignored for almost a decade due to a woeful on-ice product and a series of moves from those in the front office that did just about everything they could to — successfully!