{"id":553635,"date":"2026-04-16T04:21:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T04:21:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/553635\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T04:21:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T04:21:40","slug":"red-wings-must-bring-back-kane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/553635\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Wings Must Bring Back Kane"},"content":{"rendered":"

Really, if you\u2019re the Detroit<\/a> Red Wings, the issue is no longer up for debate. <\/p>\n

They must bring Patrick Kane<\/a> back next season.<\/p>\n

Arguably, he\u2019s been their best player since the NHL returned from its Olympic break. Kane finished the season by collecting 24 points (7-17-24) in Detroit\u2019s last 20 games.<\/p>\n

\u201cImportant piece,\u201d was how Red Wings coach Todd McLellan<\/a> described Kane\u2019s contribution to the team this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe and Cat (Alex DeBrincat<\/a>) are leading the team [in 5-on-5 scoring] since the Olympic break. Just forget about anything in overtime, 3-on-3, or 4-on-4. They\u2019re leading our team 5-on-5 scoring and plus-minus. They\u2019ve been carrying us offensively. It\u2019s not even close. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo they\u2019ve done a real good job. And I have to tip my hat to Patrick because he\u2019s playing real well defensively, too. He\u2019s trying to get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n

The same thing could also be said about the Red Wings and a new contract with Kane.<\/p>\n

They need to get it done.<\/p>\n

Kane Rejuvenated By Olympic Break<\/p>\n

Certainly, there was a time earlier in this season when the question of bringing Kane back was a legitimate issue. He struggled with injury, and then with his level of play after returning to the lineup.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking back on it, I had a good start,\u201d Kane said. \u201cWith the injury, it kind of took me a little bit to find my game after that. I was playing well, and then I was injured again. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo it kind of took me a little while to get back after that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kane finished fourth on the team with 16 goals and fifth overall with 57 points, despite playing only 67 games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I had a good finish to the season,\u201d Kane said. \u201cHappy with the way I finished, especially after the Olympic break. Felt really good. So, definitely feel like there\u2019s gas still in the tank.\u201d<\/p>\n

McLellan thought the February break in the NHL schedule did rejuvenate the 37-year-old Kane, along with allowing his body to heal.<\/p>\n

The coach also wondered if Kane\u2019s pursuit of so many milestones this season weighed on his mind. He notched his 500th goal and 1,400th point this season, along with becoming the all-time scoring leader among American-born NHL players.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe hitting some milestones and just getting them out of the way, maybe that helped him as well,\u201d McLellan said.<\/p>\n

Does Kane Still Want To Play For Red Wings?<\/p>\n

On a team that is relatively bereft of scoring in general, as well as 5-on-5 scoring, the Red Wings can ill-afford to allow right-winger Kane<\/a> to walk on July 1 as a UFA.<\/p>\n

Detroit finished 21st in the NHL in goals for (239) and 30th in the league in 5-on-5 goals (142).<\/p>\n

Among Detroit\u2019s five UFAs \u2013 Kane, James van Riemsdyk, David Perron, Cam Talbot, and Travis Hamonic \u2013 Kane is the only one they\u2019ll seek to keep.<\/p>\n

The only question left to answer at this point is whether Kane wants to stay with the Red Wings.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I haven\u2019t really thought about it too much,\u201d Kane said. \u201cI\u2019ll definitely be playing. I think there\u2019s more in the tank, and I\u2019m excited to see what level that can be at. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo I\u2019ll definitely be playing next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will it be in Detroit? For the Red Wings\u2019 sake, they\u2019d better hope so. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Really, if you\u2019re the Detroit Red Wings, the issue is no longer up for debate. They must bring…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":553636,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5101],"tags":[599,1511,93,5137,5,4,2821,3358,5138],"class_list":{"0":"post-553635","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-red-wings","8":"tag-detroit","9":"tag-detroit-hockey-now","10":"tag-detroit-red-wings","11":"tag-detroitredwings","12":"tag-hockey","13":"tag-nhl","14":"tag-patrick-kane","15":"tag-red-wings","16":"tag-redwings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116412476448433047","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=553635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553635\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/553636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=553635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=553635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=553635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}