The Blackhawks did place Kane on LTIR today...

from Mark Spector of Sportsnet,

So, with only rumours, tips, and our keen sports writer’s eye — having watched nearly every player who ever hurt his collarbone skate off the ice bent over just like Patrick Kane did on Tuesday night — we are ready to pronounce that Kane is out with some sort of shoulder/collarbone (clavicle) malady.

So, here’s what that means:

If the clavicle is broken, which is very rare in hockey according to a former NHL trainer we reached out to Wednesday, Kane is looking at eight to 10 weeks on the shelf. The good news is that bones mend, and although a broken collarbone means more recovery time, the injury would not linger with Kane for the remainder of his career.

If the collarbone has separated from where it joins the shoulder — the far more popular AC or Acromioclavicular joint injury — that means the ligaments which hold the clavicle to the shoulder have been stretched. Doctors simply put the clavicle back in place, and wait six-to-eight weeks until the ligaments tighten up around the joint once more.

There are two issues with that however. One, it never tightens up like it used to be; and two, Kane would return with a much more painful shoulder than he would if he waited the requisite time for a broken bone to heal.

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