Toronto needs RHD guys, add Murphy and remove Dach or Reichel and Hawks only do this at a reasonable cap hit on the extension. I still think the Hawks draft Demidov and adding Kane + Marner then makes no sense and there's a better chance they add Kane then trade rebuilding assets for Marner. Lastly, Kane will want at least 3 years to join the Hawks and will probably do it for $5M or less.

Would love to bring Kaner back and draft Demidov. Kaner will help immediately and eventually Demidov will take a larger role when he's here and ready. Just really good Team Progress if we go this route.

I could definitely see Kane returning to Chicago.

I recall that game when Detroit played in Chicago and it was Chelios' jersey retirement and Kane's return.

The way Hawks fans cheered Kane was amazing and you could tell it meant a lot to him.

What a mentor he'd be for young Bedard who probably idolized Kane while growing up.

Hey! I've been hoping to see some comments from you! Wanted to say, Congrats on the lotto win last night!

And yeah, bringing back Kane should be a no brainer, but I also get it if KD ripped that bandaid off and doesn't want to put it back on.

I'm fairly certain he still has his home here that he just bought before leaving for New York and of course his wife is from here. He'd be the 4th or 5th guy I can think of who came to CHI because of family reasons. These guys are on the road so often that it's mom with the kids and that's a full time job that needs help too. It's easier when Mom is near family. It's just part of life that most people on here don't think about. These are real guys with real families.

***EDIT*** and congrats on Celebrini!

Thanks man!

I did my celebrating last night after the draft lottery! 😁

I still can't believe it!

I recall KD talking about the Hawks future but I think there's exceptions in certain cases.

I'm not a Hawks fan but I'd love to see Kaner back in Chicago.

Supposedly his parents and sisters have moved to CHI as well.

Thanks man! 😁

Yeah I remember seeing Kane's young son standing behind the glass and Kane skating over.

Maybe he'll be an NHL player too someday!

Bobby and Brett Hull? 😉

I know the feeling I was going nuts when we won it last year. Not sure if moving from 3rd to 1st feels different than staying put, but a win is a win, and I do know that after an awful season there is no better feeling.

I was a teenager when we drafted Kane and Toews, so I was off being a ****head and not caring about anything at that time. I still liked to watch, but I wasn't as involved.

Exactly!

You guys taking that Russian D at #2?

Belarusian. And I hope not. I watched a ton of Michigan State games this year and I am not very high on him after that. I want Demidov. I think hindsight will have us regretting not taking Demidov in favor of Levshunov. But, we'll see. If we take him, all I can do is hope for the best. I could also be talked into Lindstrom, but Levshunov I am very wary of.

Also, I edited my last comment. Not sure if you saw it.

I remember Philly fans being so pissed when they they had to settle for JVR instead of Kane.

I also remember Bill Wirtz Sr. crowing about young Toews.

Yzerman had said Toews was better than he was at that age.

Ol' Billy Wirtz says "Did you hear what Yzerman said?" 😆

I'm all choked up now. Toews had a career year not long ago. If it weren't for the long covid issues, he would probably still be playing at a high level now. Still hoping he can bounce back, though. He did make sure to essentially say "I am not retiring, yet. Hopefully this is just a break so I can get healthy."

Lots of hard miles on Toews.

He and the other core guys on Chicago paid a huge price winning those 3 Cups but Toews especially.

Add to his Team Canada successes and what a career!

It's unfortunate it had to end the way it did but his legacy is cemented.

He's a first ballot Hall of Famer for sure. 😁

I can confirm he has a home in Lake Forest and his girlfriend (don't think they ever actually wed) and baby are living there following a year long extensive remodeling project. He bought it for $5M and at least put $1m into from the work I've seen being done. Now, that's not to say he won't flip it, I'm sure there is a profit or at least break-even to be made, but $6M+ investing in a home and remodeling for a year, even in Lake Forest, is quite a healthy investment to make it the "forever home".

Chicago is obviously not California, so you don't see $6M suburban homes go on the market all that often versus California where every coastal town has multiple $6M listings come on pretty much weekly.

You back in IL now?

I split my time, but primarily in CA. I have extended fam who live a block away from Kane's gf and kid which is why I'm in the know a little bit and saw the progress on the house and when they settled in.

Cool cool. I still have never been to CA. Maybe one of these days.

Most expensive state obviously, and a crazy political environment, but if you can ignore that it's easily the most beautiful state in the country.

Spend 7 to 10 days, fly into SF and rent a car, drive highway 1 all the way down South to San Diego. Plenty to see and experience along the way. Very diverse places from Napa Valley, SF, Carmel/Monterey, Santa Barbara, Malibu, LA, Orange County (Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, Dana Point), La Jolla, and San Diego. People don't appreciate how different California is until they experience those different areas and the terrain is breath taking along the way.

I did that 15 years ago and got hooked fast. I've been to every state except Alaska and pretty much every major city in the US and no state IMO compares.

Yeah. I was kinda thinking of doing that Highway 1 drive at some point. But I also have friends and family in Washington, Oregon, and AZ. So I might start higher and go even lower. We'll see, tho.

The drive from SF north to Seattle is also pretty incredible. Very remote in parts and the vegetation, mountains and rugged coastline are pretty impressive.

The craziest scenery I've driven through was New Mexico and Utah. Red desert and rocky desert. Seeing pictures and seeing it in person are completely different things.

It's eerie in a spooky way IMO

Yeah. It's so bizarre to see for the first time. Like here in New England there are mountains but everything is covered in trees. So it just looks like rolling hills, and I grew up seeing this area of the country. Seeing just bare rock just adds to the perspective how massive these mountains are. The colors were insane too. And yeah, how flat it is just forever is spooky, for sure. My jaw was on the floor.

The terrain diversity in America is pretty incredible. Why I like California so much is one state with so many different temps and terrains from Rocky Mountains, rolling hills in wine country, desert such as death valley, ocean, beautiful huge lakes such as Tahoe, thick redwood forests, and snowboarding to surfing even in the same day...it's a pretty good representation of America as a whole