Patrick Kane Chooses the Red Wings; Three-Time Cup Winner, 2013 Conn Smythe Signs One-Year Deal in Detroit

On Tuesday morning, a variety of NHL insiders confirmed that the 35-year-old Kane has signed a one-year contract to join the Detroit Red Wings

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Early Tuesday morning, multiple NHL insiders—including The Athletic's Chris Johnston, ESPN's Emily Kaplan, and Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman—revealed that Patrick Kane has signed a one-year contract to join the Detroit Red Wings.

Kane—35—is one of the most decorated players currently in the NHL. He is a three-time Stanley Cup Champion. He won the Conn Smythe as postseason MVP in 2013, and he won the Art Ross (as top scorer in the regular season) and Hart Trophy (as regular season MVP) in 2015-16.

Of course, the reason Kane's services remained available nearly a quarter of the way into the regular season is that he is coming off offseason hip resurfacing surgery—undertaken on June 1st—that was expected to sideline him for approximately six months.

A year ago, Kane posted 57 points in 73 games split between the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers, but he is optimistic that his operation will improve his condition and form, even as he continues to march through his 30s.

With the Red Wings, Kane will be reunited with former Chicago teammate Alex DeBrincat, who spent his first five NHL seasons with the Blackhawks, much of it on a line with Kane. That duo enjoyed tremendous success together, though it did coincide with Chicago slipping away from the Cup-winning pedestal it stood upon for the first half of the 2010s.

From a Red Wings' perspective, there is little risk to the deal. Detroit is one of the few teams in the NHL with readily available cap space, and, on a one-year deal, Kane could struggle to recover his form as he attempts to get back to game action following his surgery, and there would be no long-term consequences for the Red Wings. The vision would be for Kane to provide a bit of extra firepower to the line-up and perhaps some extra help on the power play.

Kane, meanwhile, was reported to seek a multi-year contract from a Cup-contending team. In this regard, it appears that the veteran winger did not find the exact contract he wanted (perhaps not so surprising for a player in his mid-30s coming off major surgery), but it's also possible to perceive Kane's signing as one form of external validation of Detroit's progress in the early stages of the 2023-24 season.

It would seem that Kane has been impressed with the Red Wings' 11-6-3 start to the campaign, at least enough to believe the team is a credible playoff (if not quite Stanley Cup) contender. According to Kaplan, Kane was also impressed with Derek Lalonde's tactical acumen and vision forward for the team.

Playing for the Rangers in last year's postseason, Kane posted a goal and five assists in a seven-game series defeat to the New Jersey Devils. He does, however, have an extended track record of putting up big numbers in the playoffs. His 138 career postseason points rank sixth among active players, and in 2010, he scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal in overtime of Game Six against the Flyers in Philadelphia.

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Per Johnston, the other finalists for Kane's services were the Rangers, Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres, and Toronto Maple Leafs.

While it will undoubtedly be strange to see the long-time Blackhawk wearing the Winged Wheel, Kane—a native of Buffalo—did spend the final season of his AAA with Honeybaked (based out of Farmington Hills, DeBrincat's hometown) before spending two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program (then based in Ann Arbor).

It's not yet clear what the immediate timeline is for Kane's return to game action.

Update:

Per Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli, the value on Kane's one-year deal will be $2.75 million, but it will be pro-rated to reflect that fact that he hasn't been on the roster for the entire season. That means, depending on when the contract is officially signed and registered with the league, Kane will earn roughly $2.05 million this season.