- Patrick Kane says his Blackhawks reunion isn’t a nostalgia trip, it’s about winning
- Kane is already picturing a line with Connor Bedard, who’s out until November after shoulder surgery
- Read below for what Kane and GM Kyle Davidson said about the two-year return
Patrick Kane isn’t back in Chicago for a victory lap.
One day after signing a two-year, $16 million deal to return to the Blackhawks, the 37-year-old made it clear on Friday that he came back to win, not to wave goodbye.
Kane was asked about the emotional pull of putting the Indianhead back on. He didn’t lean into it.
“Obviously the story is great, coming back to Chicago and being a Blackhawk again,” Kane said Friday, a day after his signing became official. “But most importantly, it was about coming to a team where I think I can fit in well, a team that’s on the rise. It’s not like I’m coming back home to ride off into the sunset.”
We read it the same way when he said it:
Kane won three Stanley Cups in Chicago before the Blackhawks traded him in 2023. He spent the last three seasons in Detroit and never made the playoffs. Chicago hasn’t done any better, finishing 31st in the league standings three years running.
GM Kyle Davidson explained why the timing worked now.
“When Patrick departed a couple years ago, we were in a totally different spot as a franchise,” Davidson said. “Now that we’ve got some of these draft picks that have entered and established themselves in the NHL, I felt the time was right with what he provides.”
The centerpiece of those draft picks is Connor Bedard. Kane was asked if he’s pictured skating on the 21-year-old’s wing, and he didn’t play coy.
“I mean, how can you not? He’s such a special player,” Kane said. “This will be my 20th year in the League, and I’ll probably see passes I’ve never seen before playing with him.”
Watch Kane’s full media availability:
Any Kane-Bedard pairing has to wait, though. Bedard will miss the start of the season after left shoulder surgery to repair an injury he suffered during an on-ice workout in Vancouver on July 2, so November is the earliest that line comes together.
Kane sounds fine with the wait:
Kane put up 57 points in 67 games last season and should slot into Chicago’s top six right away. The all-time American-born scoring leader isn’t chasing a sendoff. He’s chasing a playoff spot the Blackhawks haven’t reached since 2020.
