Last time Patrick Kane addressed the media in Detroit, all signs pointed toward No. 88 re-signing with the Red Wings.
"I'd love to be part of the solution that helps us get over the hump, for sure," Kane said in April after the conclusion of Detroit's season. "I think there is mutual interest to come back and continue my career here. It's been a great spot for me, my family, my son. I've definitely enjoyed my time here, the organization has been absolutely incredible with me and my family, which is appreciated and something that you realize as well.
"I don't think anyone's in a rush to make any decisions or anything like that, so we'll see how everything plays out."
Patrick Kane on his future with Red Wings: “Everything’s so fresh right now. I thought we’d be playing right now. You think you’d be in the playoffs.”
“I’d love to be part of the solution that helps us get over the hump. I think there is mutual interest.” pic.twitter.com/XSFaelZHPw
— 97.1 The Ticket: (@971theticketxyt) April 17, 2026
Then Dylan Larkin requested a trade, then Steve Yzerman was removed as general manager and now the Red Wings face a very uncertain future.
And Kane is headed back to Chicago, on a two-year, $16 million deal to likely finish his Hall of Fame career where it started.
"If you would’ve asked me last year at the end of the season, I thought I would be going back to Detroit," Kane said this week on the Pardon My Take podcast. "And you know, things happen, and then it’s like, OK, let’s just take our time, see what’s out there July 1st, and (Blackhawks) owner Danny Wirtz called me at, like, 11:03, as soon as free agency opened.
"It was actually kind of an emotional call from him, it was a call I’ll never forget. But all of a sudden you start thinking about, OK, well, there’s interest, maybe it’d be a cool place to come back and play."
Kane said that Wirtz told him, "If you came back, it would be nothing like the city has ever seen before."
"You start thinking about that, the city of Chicago and how great of a sports town it is, and the memories here, that one hit me pretty hard," said Kane.
Patrick Kane is leaving the Red Wings to return to Chicago pic.twitter.com/6JZgoz84hg
— 97.1 The Ticket: (@971theticketxyt) July 23, 2026
Kane was one of the Red Wings' leading scorers the past three seasons, after joining the team midway through 2023-24 coming off a hip resurfacing surgery that extended his career.
He's not the same force he once was, but his 57 points in 67 games last season will still be hard for Detroit to replace. He was one of the team's only players who raised his game down the stretch amid another late-season collapse for the Wings, totaling 24 points in the last 20 games.
Now he joins a young Blackhawks team that's on the rise, led by franchise forward Connor Bedard, who was two years old when Kane made his NHL debut. Chicago is coached by former Red Wings bench boss Jeff Blashill.
Kane said he thought "a little bit" the past couple seasons about a potential reunion with the Blackhawks, where he won three Stanley Cups, "but nothing too serious where I thought it could actually happen."
Then it all came together.
"Things just kind of worked out where they’re at the stage where they’re trying to take a step as a team and I was a free agent, and where I’m at, feeling good about my body, myself and about my game," said Kane. "Not only because I’m living in Chicago and because I played for the Blackhawks, but because I think it’s actually a good fit for me personally as a hockey player, so I’m excited about it. It’s going to be great."
