Patrick Kane disrespects Red Wings legend Pavel Datsyuk with latest statement

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Daniel Lucente
November 8, 2024 (4:55 PM)

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Patrick Kane recently compared Detroit Red Wings legend Pavel Datsyuk to that of Leafs captain Auston Matthews, leaving many to say that is disrespectful.

Patrick Kane believes there's a player in today's NHL who comes closest to replicating the magic of Pavel Datsyuk.

That player, according to Kane, is Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews.

"I don't know, I guess I could see Auston's game a little bit in his," Kane said after practice Friday. "Maybe Auston's more of a shooter, but as far as playing both ends of the ice and being able to strip guys with the puck and turn it into offence. I think that's where they're pretty similar."

Kane did cede that Datsyuk still remains a "unique" talent, and those kinds of players are few and far between.

This comparison between the players definitely led to a flurry of comments on social media X.

Datsyuk, who will enter the Hockey Hall of Fame this year, took over the late 2000s with the Detroit Red Wings.

He was one of the best all-around defensemen and took home three consecutive Selke Trophies from 2008 to 2010.

Matthews has not taken home a Selke, to this date, but has risen as one of the top two-way forwards in the game.

He was a finalist last season for the Selke, though Aleksander Barkov took the award.

Offensively, he's left his mark, as well, winning three Rocket Richard Trophies and the Hart Trophy in 2021-22.

Kane has lived through the nightmare Datsyuk created around the National Hockey League.

For nine years, he was on the other side of the ice from Datsyuk, as both played for Central Division rivals.

Their two teams even met in the playoffs twice, in 2009 and 2013. During that 2009 postseason, Datsyuk's Red Wings dispatched Kane's Blackhawks in the Western Conference Finals.

But Kane and the Hawks exacted a level of revenge during the 2013 postseason, topping Detroit in a fevered seven-game series.

Despite the comparison, Kane won't go up against Matthews on Friday because of Matthews' upper-body injury.

But the season will provide three more matchups between the two stars. For tonight, Kane will instead get to go up against Mitch Marner, whom Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube puts in a category with Datsyuk as well.

"Mitch does a lot of the same things. Mitch is a real good 200-foot player too," Berube said when asked about who he thinks could fit the Datsyuk bill on Friday. "Kills penalties, anticipates extremely well, has a great stick. All those same qualities that Datsyuk had."

The matchup won't have Auston Matthews, but it should still be a good one.