- Kane told reporters Friday there is “mutual interest” in bringing him back to Detroit for a 20th NHL season
- The 37-year-old finished fifth on the team with 57 points in 67 games and hit 1,400 career points this year
- Read below for what Kane said about the Red Wings’ late-season collapse and his path to a new deal
Patrick Kane is not ready to walk away from the Detroit Red Wings.
Speaking during season-ending media availabilities on Friday, the 37-year-old winger told reporters he wants to come back for a 20th NHL season and that both sides have a shared interest in making it happen.
“I think there is mutual interest for me to come back and continue my career here,” Kane said, per NHL.com. “It’s been a great spot for me, my family and my son, and I’ve definitely enjoyed my time here. But there’s no rush. I’ll talk things over with my agent and my family, and we’ll see how everything plays out.”
Kane is set to hit the market as an unrestricted free agent this summer. He has played the last three years in Detroit on one-year, bonus-laden contracts after the Red Wings signed him to another one-year deal last June. He has reached the point of his career where that structure works for both sides, and he pointed to a similar arrangement as the likely path forward.
The season did not end the way anyone in Detroit hoped. The Red Wings were 32-16-5 and tied with the Carolina Hurricanes atop the Atlantic Division on January 24. They went 9-15-5 the rest of the way and finished 41-31-10, seven points out of a playoff spot. That marked a 10th straight missed postseason, the longest active drought in the league.
Kane still had plenty to show for his year. He passed Mike Modano to become the NHL’s all-time leading U.S.-born scorer, hit his 500th career goal against the Canucks in January, and became just the 24th player in league history to reach 1,400 points. He finished fifth on Detroit in scoring with 57 points (16 goals, 41 assists) in 67 games, and he closed the year with 24 points in his final 20 games on a line with Alex DeBrincat and Andrew Copp.
DeBrincat, who has been Kane’s teammate for eight of his nine NHL seasons, made it clear he wants the veteran back.
“Obviously, we all hope he comes back. He’s a huge part of this team,” DeBrincat said. “We’re really working toward something, and it obviously hasn’t happened yet, but he sees it too. That’s why he came here in the first place.”
Kane was honest about where the Red Wings fell short. He said the locker room is “somewhat embarrassed” about a collapse that included winnable games the team gave away. Still, he believes in the group.
“I’d love to be part of the solution that gets this team over the hump,” he said. “We have a good team here, and we can win. I think this team is better than some teams that are in the playoffs.”
Kane won three Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010, 2013, and 2015. He added a fourth championship lap would be an ideal bookend, but the first job is getting a new contract done with general manager Steve Yzerman. Based on what Kane said Friday, that conversation is already in motion.
