As he reflected on his first season with the Red Wings, Patrick Kane decided he didn't want it to be his last. He took a liking to life in Detroit, on and off the ice, after the most tumultuous 18 months of his 18-year career. He didn't want to move his family for yet another time. He does want to move the Red Wings back to prominence, at least back into the playoffs. He would have left them one point shy.
"We all want to build on last year," Kane said Monday after returning to the Wings on a one-year, bonus-laden deal a day before he would have reached unrestricted free agency. "That was the message I got as well (from Steve Yzerman)."
Kane, 35, played a big part in the Red Wings nearly snapping their franchise-worst eight-year playoff drought last season. He finished fourth on the team in goals and sixth in points, despite playing in just 50 games after joining the team in late November following a resurfacing procedure on his hip. Kane is keen on playing an even bigger role this year, on a team trying to continue a slow and steady ascent in the East.
"There’s definitely expectations going into this season, and that’s always a good thing," he said. "You want those expectations. Whether it’s the fans, the media or just the players in general, you want to expect the team and the organization to take the next step. Excited about being a part of that and hopefully getting a chance to have a good regular season and play playoff hockey again. I think the LCA is just an amazing place to play. I can’t even imagine what it would be like in the playoffs."
Kane had several suitors as a free agent last fall. He ultimately chose the Red Wings because of his belief in Yzerman, his friendship with Alex DeBrincat and his longtime desire to play in Detroit, where he had moved at the age of 14 to play top-tier youth hockey for Honeybaked while living with Hall of Famer Pat Verbeek. He chose them again because the experience was everything he thought it would be. Maybe even more after spending the first 16 seasons of his career with the Blackhawks.
"For me, my heart was set on coming to Detroit and being back in Detroit," said Kane. "I thought it was a good fit last year, loved the team, we were really comfortable living there, loved the fans. I thought the fans really embraced me. You never really know what to expect, especially being in Chicago for so long and coming to Detroit, I know that’s a huge rivalry, but the embrace of the fans was incredible."
With a smile, Kane said that Ken Daniels helped lure him back to Detroit, too. The legendary TV voice of the Red Wings set the stage for some of Kane's theatrics last season, like his overtime winner in his epic return to Chicago. His flair on the mic made Showtime's name ring true.
"I can watch those clips for the rest of my life, just because of the call he had on some of those goals I scored, the one in Chicago especially," said Kane. "Those are moments that give you chills. When you have that feeling, you want to continue that and create more of those moments. And it’s not only just about me. I also feel like it was a good fit for the team and feel like I fit in well with the lineup and the guys."
Kane's hip had plagued him for a few years prior to surgery. He still managed respectable numbers, but his stride was stiff. He said it often felt like he was hopping on one leg. He looked and felt more like himself last season, "with the hip becoming part of my body now and just feeling like it’s all one." Now that he has a summer to "train like an athlete again" and rebuild the strength he had lost, Kane said his "goal is to take it to another level next year, too."
"It feels like another offseason where you want to take the next step as a player," he said. "That’s where I’m at now, instead of worrying about the hip regressing or where I’m at with that and when the right time is to make a move. All that’s in the past and I can just focus on playing now."
The Red Wings will need him to elevate. Even with the signing of Vladimir Tarasenko, they lost far more offense than they added this offseason. Asked how they can improve next season, Kane pointed to the power play, where last year the Wings finished ninth in the NHL. Every team above them made the playoffs.
"I think we can be a top-five unit," he said. "I think that would be a good goal. I know we were around 10th last year, which is still pretty good, but I still think we can be even better. I think I can be better on the power play as well. You look back at the numbers, I think I only had two goals on the power play."
Kane also said the Wings "can be a better group defensively" after allowing the ninth most goals in the NHL. None of the teams below them made the playoffs.
"That’s always a key component to winning and getting into the playoffs, and that’s on everyone, right? Not just the guys that are in that role. Everyone needs to play better defensively, so I’m sure we’ll go through that as a team and how we want to play in those situations," said Kane.
For Kane, staying with the Red Wings offered another year of stability after moving from Chicago to New York to Toronto for rehab and then to Detroit all in the last year and a half. He went into the offseason seeking a longer-term deal for that reason, "and then you start thinking about it," he said. Kane and his girlfriend are happily settled in Metro Detroit with their three-year-old son. And the $4 million contract he signed with the Red Wings is worth up to $6.5 million in incentives that are well within his reach. It also includes a full no-trade clause.
"I still think it’s a pretty fair deal," he said. "As you get older, for me, it’s not like I’m only going to play one more year and then be done. I still feel like I have a lot of hockey left, but I think we settled on the one year and then built it off the bonus structure, so it was a smart way to go for both sides."
Indeed, the potential bonuses will only count against the Red Wings' salary cap this season if they have sufficient space to pay them. Otherwise, they'll roll over to 2025-26. Kane's relatively low base salary gives Yzerman flexibility to continue working on the roster as he prepares to sign Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider to lucrative extensions.
"It works both ways," said Kane. "I can sign a one-year deal, take advantage of the bonuses not only for myself but it helps the team, too, to have the lower AAV. That’s something that we talked about with my agent and thought that was a good route to go."
The Red Wings hope their route leads them back to the playoffs. If they return after nearly a decade away, they'll likely have Kane's return to thank.