It was in the wrong spot, across the room and a few stalls off center, hanging next to 18-year-old Mason West as the prospect fiddled with the laces on his skates. It was the wrong time of year, the dead of summer, months since the last game and months till the next one. And it was definitely the wrong logo — the winged wheel of the hated Detroit Red Wings emblazoned on the chest.But Patrick Kane’s No. 88 jersey didn’t feel out of place in the locker room at the Blackhawks Ice Center earlier this month. Never has. Kane lives in Chicago. Skates in Chicago. Is Chicago. He never really left Chicago. And he certainly never left the heart of Chicagoans.That jersey — the right one, the real one, the Blackhawks one — still speckles the United Center on a nightly basis, mixing in with all the 98s in the crowd for every home game. Now, those jerseys will come together on the ice, on the top line, 88 and 98, Patrick Kane and Connor Bedard, the glorious past and the promising future joining to create a tantalizing present.Is Zach Werenski really committed to the Blue Jackets?Aaron Portzline and Sean McIndoeDoes the signing of Kane to a two-year contract worth $8 million a season (8-8, get it?) with a full no-movement clause make the Blackhawks a contender this season? Of course not. There’s still a ton of development to do, there are still a ton of holes to fill. Does the signing of Kane make the Blackhawks a heck of a lot more interesting this season? Of course.But this isn’t just about ticket sales and CHSN subscriptions. This isn’t just some novelty signing, a nostalgia play, a bit of fan service, a farewell tour. At least, not entirely. Kane still has game. At 37, he’s not as fast or as strong as he was before hip-resurfacing surgery — but his game was never predicated on speed or physicality. He’s not terribly interested in playing defense at this stage of his career — but he was never exactly a 200-foot player to begin with. As he enters his 20th NHL season, Kane’s hands are as soft as ever, his processing speed is as high as ever, and his creativity is as singular as ever.Kane had 20 goals in 50 games in his first season with the Red Wings. He had 59 points in 72 games in 2024-25. And he had 57 points in 67 games last season. He won’t post 110 points as he did in 2018-19; he won’t win the Hart Trophy as he did in 2015-16; he won’t lead the Blackhawks to three championships as he did from 2010 to 2015. But he can still play.Most importantly, he can play alongside Bedard.For the first time in his NHL career, Bedard has a bona fide top-line winger — someone who can keep up with his own soft hands, his own high processing speed, his own creativity. Bedard’s agent, Don Meehan, made a point this week to say that Bedard bristles at any criticism of his teammates — a sign of just how far he’s come as a leader and inevitable captain — but the fact is, the Blackhawks’ 21-year-old superstar has been saddled with unworthy linemates for all three of his NHL seasons.