- Patrick Kane plays his first game in Detroit since leaving the Red Wings for Chicago
- Kane called Dylan Larkin “a special player, a special human”
- Read below for Kane’s thoughts on the fan reception and why Larkin won’t be on the ice
Patrick Kane is heading back to Detroit, and he isn’t sure how it’s going to go.
The Blackhawks visit the Red Wings tonight at Little Caesars Arena, Kane’s first game in the building since he left in free agency this summer to return to Chicago. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m. ET.
Kane was asked what kind of reception he expects when he talked with the Chicago Tribune’s Kalen Lumpkins earlier this week.
“We’ll see. I mean, I guess you never know with Chicago and Detroit, right? Big rivalry,” Kane said. “But like I said, the fans were great to me there. So either way, whatever it goes, I understand, but I really loved my time there.”
Lumpkins shared part of the exchange on X:
Detroit has plenty of reasons to be warm. Kane spent three seasons with the Red Wings and put up 57 goals and 106 assists in 189 games before heading home.
Kane was also asked about Dylan Larkin, and Larkin won’t be in the Detroit lineup tonight. Larkin is sitting out until the Red Wings trade him, a decision his agent Pat Brisson explained in a statement released through The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun:
Kane had nothing but praise for his former teammate.
“He’s great. He’s awesome. He was so engaged every game, so intense, wanting to win,” Kane said. “A lot of pressure on him there, for sure, within the organization, probably being from there, too. I can’t say a bad thing about [Larkin]. He’s a special player, a special human.”
Kane has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in 12 games with the Blackhawks and has picked up an assist in three straight. We covered his homecoming with Jonathan Toews and Niklas Hjalmarsson in Chicago earlier this month.
Kane finds out how Detroit feels about him at 7:30 p.m. ET.
