It happened! The wait to see where Patrick Kane is going to sign for this season is over. He is going to be a member of the Detroit Red Wings which is news that came out early on Tuesday morning. Obviously, this is going to be a big news story across the NHL.
Kane, of course, was a member of the Chicago Blackhawks for parts of 16 seasons. He was the number one overall pick made by Chicago in the 2007 NHL Draft. He went on to have a Hall of Fame career with them. In 2023, he was traded to the New York Rangers at the deadline.
The hope was that Kane could compete in the playoffs again with the Rangers as the Blackhawks entered a rebuild. They made it to the postseason but were eliminated in the first round by the New Jersey Devils.
Once the off-season hit, he had hip surgery which delayed his free agent process. There were a lot of teams interested in signing Kane but he decided to head up to the Motor City and play for the Red Wings.
Let’s go even further. Patrick Kane is signing with the Detroit Red Wings
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) November 28, 2023
🚨 TO DETROIT 🚨
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 28, 2023
According to multiple reports, Patrick Kane is signing with the Red Wings pic.twitter.com/qDNLHAKnge
Patrick Kane is headed off to the Detroit Red Wings for the 2023-24 season
Kane is a well-decorated player. In 1180 games played, he has 451 goals, 786 assists, and 1237 points. He is a Calder Trophy winner, a Hart Trophy winner, an Art Ross Trophy winner, and a three-time Stanley Cup champion. For one of those Cups, he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
Detroit is getting themselves a legend that will help them on offense. With players like Lucas Raymond and Dylan Larkin there to play with, they know they have another gear that they can get to.
Kane will also have a chance to be teammates with Alex DeBrincat again. Those two had instant chemistry in Chicago before the latter was traded away. Now, we will see if they are able to refind their magic again with Detroit.
This is a big decision for Kane. The Wings are good this year but their playoff drought is starting to linger after 25 straight postseason appearances. Kane is hoping to help them end that this year.
At 11-6-3, they currently sit in third place of the Atlantic Division which would be playoff-worthy if the season ended today. There is still a lot of work yet to be done. Hopefully, this is a move that works out well for both Kane and the Red Wings.