Chicago got its guy back, and the hockey world is still buzzing about how it happened. Patrick Kane's return to the Blackhawks became official on July 23, when the team announced a 2-year deal worth $8 million against the cap, complete with a full no-movement clause. It capped a process that took roughly 3 weeks, with Kane — a Buffalo native — weighing the Blackhawks against his hometown Sabres while about 10 teams circled at the start of free agency. General manager Kyle Davidson didn't hide how much this one meant, saying Kane spent 16 seasons captivating Chicago and helped bring the franchise back to the pinnacle of the sport.
But the version of this story making the rounds on Barstool isn't just about term sheets — it's about the phone call that got it done. According to Big Cat, Blackhawks chairman Danny Wirtz personally rang Kane to help close the deal, a detail that's now the centerpiece of Pardon My Take's coverage of the reunion.
Big Cat framed the behind-the-scenes push, crediting Danny Wirtz's personal outreach for bringing Kane back to Chicago.
And PMT wasted no time cashing in on the biggest hockey guest they could book. Kane sat in studio for the July 27 episode, with the show teasing the sit-down alongside a grab bag of segments — LeBron James to Philly, Tony Romo's DUI, a Mount Rushmore of foods you eat with a spoon. Classic PMT chaos, but Kane was clearly the headline.
Pardon My Take teased the sit-down with a simple, two-word framing: Patrick Kane is coming home.
For Blackhawks fans, this is about more than nostalgia. Kane's first tenure in Chicago spanned 3 Stanley Cups and turned him into a franchise cornerstone before he moved on. Bringing him back signals the front office isn't treating this as a rebuild anymore — it's a bet that a healthy, still-productive Kane can help speed up the return to contention, even on a short-term deal.
Barstool's hockey desk has been in full celebration mode since the news broke, and it showed in how the show promoted the episode. The energy wasn't subtle — captions like a simple declaration that it's a good day summed up the mood around the Blackhawks account, even as the accompanying footage leaned on old highlight reels from Kane's championship years rather than anything from this week.
A celebratory montage of Kane's old Blackhawks playoff runs captured the mood around the reunion, even if the clips themselves are throwbacks.
Now it's on Kane to deliver, and on PMT to milk every minute of having him behind the mic. Expect more of these in-studio moments as the season approaches — and expect Chicago to treat every one of them like a homecoming.