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Patrick Kane Is the Greatest US-Born NHL Player of All-Time

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The 100th player in NHL history to join the 400-goal club, Patrick Kane is still far from being done dominating. Sitting in fourth all-time for overall production by a US-born player, he also ranks highest among active athletes on that list with time ahead of him to further his case as the most elite American ever.

While many anticipate Kane becoming the best player to develop out of the USA, the reality is that he already is. Despite a handful of former superstars born on the same soil having accumulated higher point totals than Kane has to date, that does little to tell the full story.

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First and foremost, this is a focus on players, as goalies deserve a discussion of their own. Second, and more importantly, Kane’s greatness stretches beyond goals and assists.

USA’s Most Prolific Producer

Heading into 2022-23, his 16th season in the NHL, Kane had accumulated 430 goals and 750 assists for 1,180 points through 1,107 regular-season games played. Making it easy to posit that he’s one of the most consistent superstars of his generation.

Patrick Kane Chicago Blackhawks
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks (Amy Irvin/The Hockey Writers)

Looked at as one of the best in the game since he started to take it over in 2007-08, the fact that he still finds meaningful ways to learn and level up speaks directly to how dynamic Kane truly is.

Now, it’s relevant to make a major distinction to help illustrate why he deserves to rank higher than where a static point totals list places him. Of those that have tallied more overall than Kane, none did so as regularly over the course of their careers as he continues to.


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The top six US-born producers of all time are Mike Modano, Phil Housley, Jeremy Roenick, Kane, Keith Tkachuk, and Joe Mullen — in that order. However, if we gauge based on a points-per-game basis, it completely changes the dimensions of where Kane would currently land among that same group.

Ranked by Point Totals

  1. Modano: 1,374
  2. Housley: 1,232
  3. Roenick: 1,216
  4. Kane: 1,190
  5. Tkachuk: 1,065
  6. Mullen: 1,063

Ranked by Points-Per-Game

  1. Kane: 1.063
  2. Mullen: 1.001
  3. Modano: 0.917
  4. Roenick: 0.892
  5. Tkachuk: 0.887
  6. Housley: 0.824

Bear in mind, Kane’s pace isn’t swollen due to sample size, explained away by a couple of exceptional seasons. He has not only set this standard across his 16-year career but he has also elevated throughout it. Kane has performed as a point-per-game player through nine of his last 10 campaigns.

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