Red Wings’ Patrick Kane on his future, how much team means to his son
Detroit Red Wings forward Patrick Kane, April 19, 2025 in Detroit.
Patrick Kane is back for a third consecutive season with the Detroit Red Wings.
The future first-ballot Hockey Hall of Famer agreed to terms on a one-year contract carrying a $3 million cap hit.
The deal was sealed in the evening on Monday, June 30, but had been a widely expected move for months: Kane said two days after the season ended he enjoyed his time in Detroit – which dates back a year and a half – and general manager Steve Yzerman expressed interest in extending the relationship at his end-of-season news conference.
Besides not having to uproot his family – as Kane put it, how could he take his son, four-year-old Patrick, away from Archie DeBrincat, son of teammate and good friend Alex DeBrincat? – it also shows Kane’s belief in the Wings, even as their playoff drought hit nine years this spring.
“I’m still optimistic about the group and I think we’re closer than we were at the end of last year,” Kane said in mid-April, shortly after the season ended. “It’s such a fine line. We were on a pretty good pace from when Todd [McLellan] came in.
“I think that will huge going into next season, the confidence in the coaching staff.”
Kane, 36, joined the Wings in November of 2023, six months after undergoing invasive hip surgery. For him, it was an opportunity to see if he could still play at a high level; for the Wings, an opportunity to add a three-time Stanley Cup champion with ethereal skills.
He proved that even past his prime, he was still “Showtime,” the moniker bestowed upon him over the years for his electrifying play. Though he appeared in just 50 games in 2023-24, he still hit the 20-goal mark, and had 47 points in 2023-24.
Kane re-upped with the Wings on the eve of free agency for one year at $4 million last offseason. He looked slow out of the gate last fall, with just five goals his first 29 games, but the Wings as a whole were an uninspiring team in the first half.
Then Todd McLellan was named coach during the Christmas break, and soon Kane was back to being “Showtime,” finishing with 21 goals and 59 points in 72 games.
Further proving that in his case, age is just a number: It was Kane who led the team in scoring post-4 Nations break, with 28 points the final 27 games.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, A Curated History of the Red Wings,” was released October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.