Patrick Kane is ready to play again on his surgically repaired hip and has elected to resume his NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings, league sources said.
Kane agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million contract in Detroit The athletePierre LeBrun, after spending the past two weeks narrowing down his options in free agency, sources said.
The New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs were among the teams to show interest in the 35-year-old winger.
Kane returns to the NHL after having hip resurfacing surgery on June 1. He was given a six-month recovery timeline and basically hit that bump on the nose, spending a good portion of the last few months in the Greater Toronto Area receiving treatment, doing rehab work and skating.
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Bultmann: Can Patrick Kane end Detroit’s drought?
He is coming off the least productive season of his NHL career with 57 points in 73 games split between the Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks — albeit a season in which he dealt with a nagging hip injury and spent five months playing for Chicago in the midst of a tear.
In Detroit, Kane joins an organization that is finally showing signs of emerging from a long rebuilding process as he will be reunited with Alex DeBrincat, a teammate who clicked with him during their time together in Chicago. DeBrincat leads the Red Wings with 12 goals in 20 games so far this season.
At 11-6-3, Detroit holds a playoff spot in the competitive Atlantic Division. One of Keane’s priorities was landing a club that gave him the chance to chase another championship.
Kane was a central figure in three Stanley Cup victories with the Blackhawks, collecting the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2013, and is second all-time in scoring to Mike Modano among US-born players with 1,237 points.
His resume also includes a Calder Trophy, an Art Ross Trophy, a Hart Trophy, and a Ted Lindsay Award. Kane was recognized as one of the top 100 players in the NHL in 2017.
The Buffalo, New York, native will reconnect with some old Michigan roots after joining the Red Wings — having spent a season playing for the Honeybaked AAA team in Farmington Hills as a teenager before joining the U.S. National Team Development Program for two seasons. In Ann Arbor.
Here’s writer Max Bultmann’s analysis of the deal that the Red Wings beat:
How does Kane fit in with the Red Wings?
The Red Wings made a big push for more depth last season, and while that was largely successful offensively (they’re a top-five team in goals per game) they could still use more power Fireworks in the top six, and that’s what Kane brings.
The big question is how he will look after hip resurfacing surgery, but even if that procedure hampers his mobility, Kane’s playmaking should be an asset and give Detroit greater dimension at the top of their lineup. The idea of Kane and DeBrincat reuniting is certainly a tantalizing one. – Bultmann
How it affects Detroit’s chances in the playoffs
It helps them. The Red Wings have been hot since returning home from the NHL World Series, finishing third in the Atlantic Division. Holding off more talented foes like the Tampa Bay Lightning and Maple Leafs won’t be easy, but if Kane can look like his natural self, he gives them a dynamic element they’ve sorely missed in years past.
As of last year, he had 57 points in 73 games at the age of 34. If he can achieve a similar result, it could be enough to push Detroit to the right side of the bubble. – Bultmann
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