Patrick Kane recently complimented Leafs' Auston Matthews, however in doing so, he completely disrespected a Red Wings legend, and fans are horrified by this. Over the course of a long career, three-time Stanley Cup champion Patrick Kane has faced many legends of the game, such as Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings. Datsyuk was simply a magician on the ice, a player so known for his mesmerizing puck-handling ability and overall skill that it made him one of the most dangerous and proficient forwards of his era. Comparisons to today's stars have begun once more with the momentum of talk on Datsyuk's likely Hockey Hall of Fame induction. Most notably, Kane controversially brought up Auston <a href='https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/red-wings-kane-says-auston-matthews-is-closest-in-modern-game-to-datsyuk/' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Matthews in comparison to Datsyuk</a>. I don't know, I guess I could see Auston's game a little bit in his, Kane said after practice Friday. Maybe Auston's more of a shooter, but as far as playing both ends of the ice and being able to strip guys with the puck and turn it into offense. I think that's where they're pretty similar. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/nickbarden/status/1854948958956613820'> </a></blockquote></div> He received debate on that comparison among fans because, although Kane did acknowledge Datsyuk's unique abilities, many felt his value defensively and as a two-way player set him apart. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/fordiehardfans1/status/1854949416131572137'> </a></blockquote></div> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/aduncan97544086/status/1854982169250206082'> </a></blockquote></div> Datsyuk's resume includes an overall domination with Detroit during the 2000s, Stanley Cups in both 2002 and 2008, and three back-to-back-to-back Selke Trophies in 2008-2010 for defensive honours unprecedented at the time. Auston Matthews, while acclaimed for his offence, has not achieved similar defensive honours, though he was a Selke finalist last season. He remains much of a scorer, the Hart Trophy win in 2022, but his defensive game, while improved under former coach Sheldon Keefe, still has room to grow. There was the rather curious take by Craig Berube that Datsyuk reminded him of Mitch Marner, but Kane played against Datsyuk a great deal in the Central Division and developed somewhat of a respectful rivalry with him. Mitch does a lot of the same things. Mitch is a real good 200-foot player too, Berube said when asked about who he thinks could fit the Datsyuk bill on Friday. Kills penalties, anticipates extremely well, has a great stick. All those same qualities that Datsyuk had. The two were often on opposite sides of some incredibly memorable playoff series, including Detroit ousting the Blackhawks in the 2009 Western Conference Finals before Chicago returned the favour in 2013.