Patrick Kane is healthy, productive, and locked in with the Chicago Blackhawks heading into a season built around him and Connor Bedard.
This summer, a clip of the Tkachuk brothers breaking down Kane's game got Chicago hockey fans fired up all over again.
Brady and Matthew Tkachuk pointed to Kane's chemistry potential with Bedard, the same way people once talked about Kane and Artemi Panarin.
Last season Kane put up 57 points in 67 games for Chicago, with 16 goals and 41 assists at age 37.
Over his final ten games he was rolling. Thirteen points. Three goals, ten assists. Not bad for a guy some had already written off.
Bedard is the piece still missing. He's on injured reserve with a shoulder issue, and the estimated return is November 11.
Before he got hurt, Bedard was doing damage. Thirty goals, 45 assists, 75 points in 69 games, tops on the team by a wide margin.
Bedard's shoulder rehab has a firm return date now
The Blackhawks finished 29-39-14 last season, good for 72 points, ranked 31st overall and dead last in their own division.
That's the backdrop here. Years of high draft picks, and still no real jump in the standings to show for it.
Betting on a real leap because a 37 year old winger looks sharp and a franchise center is out until mid November is a stretch, not a sure thing.
Still, the pieces around Kane and Bedard have some juice. Tyler Bertuzzi scored 32 goals and put up 58 points last season.
Bowen Byram chipped in 42 points from the blue line, and Frank Nazar added 41 points with a shorthanded goal mixed in.
None of that kept Chicago out of the division basement. It's why the offseason chatter feels different this time around.
Head coach Jeff Blashill and GM Kyle Davidson now have a healthy Kane, a returning Bedard, and real scoring depth to build with.
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Whether that's enough to push Chicago back into the playoff conversation depends on how long the roster can hold together without its best player.
Should the Blackhawks be buying playoff hype before Bedard even steps back on the ice?
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