Exploring how Patrick Kane could score 25 or more times next season and his season total over in goals
The 2024-25 NHL season will be year 17 for Patrick Kane, who will be returning to the Detroit Red Wings on a one-year deal. One of the most decorated American hockey players is nearing towards the end of his career but in a limited 50 games last season, Kane still put up 20 goals.
If the 35-year-old had a couple more games to play, he would've hit the 25-goal mark which is what Kane's over/under line is set at next season for total goals.
Over 24.5 goals should be easy for the Buffalo native as he's hit that mark in 12 of his 16 years playing pro with two of the seasons he missed the mark being because of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the NHL lockout during the 2012-13 season.
He very well could hit his over once again as he is entering next season with a full offseason of preparation with the Red Wings rather than joining them near mid-season like last year.
Kane spent just over 182 minutes on the ice last season with Alex DeBrincat and J.T. Compher as well as another 152 minutes with captain Dylan Larkin at centre instead of Compher.
The only wrinkles in the plan for Kane is injury concern, which he has a fairly limited history of, and adjusting to playing without DeBrincat and Larkin as they will both be moved into a top line position with Lucas Raymond.
This will be a test as Kane is projected to play alongside Compher and forward Michael Rasmussen, who will get a bump to the second line from the third, where he played most of last season.
The talent will be slightly lesser than what Kane is used to but Compher has continued to progress year-after-year from a 20-30 point producer to 40-50 points over the last two seasons.
Rasmussen is also capable as a young 25-year-old and still has some potential entering his sixth season with the Red Wings. The Vancouver native has also grown as a player with point production reaching the 30-point mark last season and could see him grow into a potential 40-point producer this season.
Kane will need to stay healthy and the line chemistry will need sound for this bet to hit. However, we feel pretty good about this one as Kane is still a difference maker, as he finished with a 0.94 point-per-game average last season, and will be more acclimated to playing in the Red Wings system, that had the ninth-best power play last season with a 23.1 per cent success rate.
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