Report“ Patrick Kane working through ”unspecified issue.“

According to a report from NHL.com, Chicago Blackhawks superstar Patrick Kane is dealing with an "unspecified issue" that has been bothering him since before the beginning of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. This news obviously comes as a shock to Blackhawks fans, especially after captain Jonathan Toews was sidelined for all of 2020-21 due to his own "unspecified issue". Fortunately though, it looks like Kane is handling things well and he expects to be in training camp next week.

"It's something that I worked on all summer, so it's been, I don't want to say frustrating, but it's been like nagging me a little bit," Kane said at the NHL Player Media Tour on Thursday. "We're at the point now where I think it's finally starting to turn the corner and seeing some progress." 

The 32 year old forward managed to play all 56 games last season and led his team in scoring with an incredible 15 goals and 66 points. He says that while he's probably not 100%, he'll be ready for training camp on Thursday.

"To be honest with you, I'm excited with where I'm at. Hopefully I'm feeling good to start the season," Kane said. "Obviously, I have different conversations with doctors and the training staff, so I'm sure we'll kind of readjust it. But to me, there's no worries going into camp."

As for Toews, there's currently no timetable for his return. Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman announced earlier this offseason that Toews would in fact return after his bout with chronic immune response syndrome, but no one seems exactly certain when Toews will re-join the team.

"It'll be nice to get him back in the lineup and have like that 1-2 punch that we always had when we were on different lines," Kane said. "It makes it a little bit more of a tougher matchup for other teams, so that'll be nice to have him back. He's working hard. You can tell he's really focused on getting his body and his mind in the right place to be able to play and be successful. Other than that, I mean, just happy to have him back and such a big part of our team, you know? Whether it's on the ice or off the ice, [he] just brings that presence."