Patrick Kane not signing with Panthers, elects to continue career in Detroit
Florida was viewed as one of the final teams in the running to sign Kane
It turns out the Florida Panthers did not come out on top in the Patrick Kane sweepstakes.
Tuesday morning, NHL insider Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN reported that Kane would be signing a one-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings.
Terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed.
It’s likely that the number is higher than the $1.6 million in cap space that the Panthers have to work with, as Detroit had a bit more flexibility in that department with north of $6.7 million of room under the cap.
Kane’s decision had been a long time coming, with the future Hall of Famer reportedly mulling over his potential destinations since undergoing offseason hip resurfacing surgery back in June.
In addition to the Panthers and Red Wings, Kane had been linked to the Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres and Colorado Avalanche, among others, over the past couple months.
It had been reported that Kane wanted to go to a team where he could compete for another Stanley Cup before hanging up his skates for good.
He joins a Detroit squad that is working its way back up from a rebuild, and they have quite a bit of firepower now as Kane unites with the likes of Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin and the Wings’ young core of Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider.
When he officially signs and joins his new team is TBD.
Kane was given a six-month timeline after his surgery, which would put him on track to return to game action in early December.
We’ll see how accurate that is once Kane puts on his Red Wings jersey and signs on the dotted line.
For now, one of Florida’s divisional opponents appears to have gotten a bit stronger. Entering play Tuesday, Detroit holds a 11-6-3 record and sits two points behind the second-place Panthers in the Atlantic.
It will be fun to see how things play out over the final months of the regular season.
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