Patrick Kane (wrist) thinks he might be able to participate in as many as four preseason games. Kane underwent wrist surgery to repair a scaphoid fracture on July 19th. He's still wearing a splint, but that will change soon. "I get the splint off the 15th so after that I should be able to do pretty much everything," Kane said. "I've been skating and working out. For a while there, I couldn't go full equipment with the cast. Once I got the cast off that's when I started trying to get back into the flow quickly." Chicago's training camp will open on September 17th. Stay tuned.

Patrick Kane (wrist) received some good news from his visit to the doctor on Monday. He asked if he would be available for the start of the year and was told that he would be ready way before that. "Right now, from what I hear from my doctor, the team and the trainers ... I expect to be at training camp and definitely ready to go," Kane said. "(But) there's really no timetable for what date it's going to be. If it's the 15th or if it's the 20th or whatever it might be, I'm sure I'll be in there before the regular season and certainly not long after training camp starts - if not when it starts." He is currently unable to put two hands on his stick and he can't shoot pucks and stick handle because he is still wearing a short cast, but it might be removed next Monday and then he can ramp up his workouts.

Chicago GM Stan Bowman said Patrick Kane's surgically repaired wrist should be fine in time for training camp. "He's doing great and is right on schedule," said Bowman. "We don't expect any difficulties. We'll have him checked when we get closer to the actual start of camp, but so far it's routine and no problems are expected. He's still able to do a lot of cardio stuff, so he's staying in shape." Kane didn't sound as optimistic in a recent radio interview about being ready for camp, but said he should be all systems go for the regular season opener. We'll keep you informed.

Patrick Kane (wrist) may not be available for the start of training camp, but he is targeting the opening game of the regular season for his return. Kane had surgery to repair a scaphoid fracture in his left wrist on July 19th. "I still have a little cast on so it's probably a little bit longer," he told Toronto radio station The Fan 590. "I'm not really going to rush anything, we still have a lot of time. My goal is to be ready for the opening regular-season game. Obviously, you'd like to be back in training camp but more importantly the date is Oct. 7 for our first regular season game. That's kind of the date I'm working for. There's really no rush because things are going pretty well right now." He said he has continued skating to keep himself in shape and we will keep you posted on his recovery.

Patrick Kane is healing and ready for a deep run this upcoming season. Kane had surgery on a bone in his wrist on July 19th. He is nearing the halfway point in his recovery. "It's never fun to be walking around in a cast, especially since I'm going to have it on for six weeks," he said. "I'm two weeks down and a couple days. I keep counting the days to get this thing off." Kane also said he believes the Blackhawks have a good chance of making a deep playoff run. We won't argue there.

The Chicago Blackhawks have only $100,000 in performance bonus overages for the 2011-12 season, compared to $4.1 million last season. It's possible for teams to exceed the salary cap in performance bonuses, but if they do, then the excess counts against the following year's cap. Consequently, the Blackhawks started the 2010-11 campaign with $4.1 million in cap hits against them before even factoring in any current player salaries. The Blackhawks were in a terrible cap situation last summer, but they've managed to change their fortunes significantly over the last season. They are still operating near the cap, but they have enough breathing room that they can upgrade their team via a mid-season trade without too much difficulty from a cap perspective.

Patrick Kane underwent successful wrist surgery on Tuesday. "Patrick Kane underwent surgery today to repair a scaphoid fracture in his left wrist," Blackhawks head team physician Dr. Michael Terry said. "The surgery went very well and we anticipate a full recovery. Patrick will begin doing modified preseason workouts shortly and we hope for a full return to activity in six to eight weeks." Consider Kane probable for the start of the season. We'll keep you posted.

Patrick Kane will undergo wrist surgery, but he should be fine for training camp. "He will undergo surgery on Tuesday to repair a scaphoid fracture," Blackhawks physician Michael Terry said. "We anticipate a full recovery in 6-8 weeks and in time for training camp. We do not anticipate any long-term issues." He sustained the injury while training. For now, consider him probable for the start of the preseason, but we'll let you know if his status changes.

Patrick Kane is excited about the player's Chicago signed in the off-season. Chicago added several players that play a very physical game, including Dan Carcillo, Sean O'Donnell, and Jamal Mayers. "Stan kind of reached out to me and told me, 'These are the kind of players who can protect you and help you do your thing,'" Kane said. "You want that protection and have in the back of your mind people aren't going to run all over the place to try to take you out of the game. If you look at the players we have, I don't think too many players will mess with those guys." The Blackhawks definitely look like a deeper and more balanced team than they were going into 2010-11.

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville became an American citizen in May. Quenneville was born in Canada and he started the process years ago when he was still a member of the St. Louis Blues' organization. "It was a proud moment to be like the rest of my household," Quenneville said. "I'm a dual citizen now and happy to be a dual."