DETROIT — Patrick Kane has been asked about the Chicago Blackhawks a million times since he left the franchise that selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft.
In his third season with the Detroit Red Wings, Kane is comfortable at this stage of his career — his 19th year in the NHL. Still, it’s strange for Hawks fans to see him in a different shade of red after he helped the team win three Stanley Cups and racked up countless other awards during his nearly 16 seasons with the organization.
It’s odd for Kane too.
“It feels weird, but at the same time I think of myself (as a) a Red Wing now,” Kane said Saturday. “(The Hawks) are a different organization, going on a different path, and I’m here doing my thing. Good things don’t last forever, it was a good run we had there and I’ll never forget it. But (I’m) trying to carve a different path here in Detroit.”
Kane will face his former team Sunday for the fourth time as a member of the Red Wings, who won the three previous matchups. The Hawks will be playing the finale of a six-game trip, having gone 2-2-1 following their 4-0 win Friday against the Calgary Flames.
In the midst of a teardown and rebuild, the Hawks traded Kane to the Rangers in February 2023, and after playing the final 19 games of the season in New York he signed with the Red Wings the following November. The Hawks finished in last place in the Central Division the previous three years but have exceeded expectations in coach Jeff Blashill’s first season, starting 7-5-3.
Kane has taken notice.
“The league’s better off if Chicago’s competitive and they’re doing well in the playoff hunt and competing for Stanley Cups like we did in the past,” Kane said. “The outlook before the season maybe wasn’t so high for them, but they’re finding ways to compete.
“It looks like Blashill’s done a great job there and their young guys have taken some good steps. Hopefully before you know it, they’ll be in a position to win again.”
Kane, who turns 37 on Nov. 19, has 111 points in 128 games with the Wings, including two goals and three assists in six contests this season (the Wings are 9-6-0). He said he learned something since joining the Hawks’ onetime division rival — something he may have not known had he never left Chicago.
“I feel like throughout my career … you’re going to be the player that you are,” Kane said. “You’re not brought onto a team to be something different. You realize you got to play your strengths (and) play to who you are as a player, which is what makes you successful.”
Four months after trading Kane in 2023, the Hawks had the No. 1 pick in the draft for just the second time in franchise history — Kane was the first 16 years prior — and took Connor Bedard, who has become the face of the franchise’s rebuild.
The Hawks center enters Sunday’s matchup at Little Caesars Arena with a seven-game point streak, and his goal and three assists Friday made him the youngest player in Hawks history to reach 150 points. Bedard doesn’t turn 21 until July 17; Kane’s pre-21 total was 161.
“He’s had a great start to his career, great start to the season and he’s dangerous every time I’m watching and every time he’s on the ice,” Kane said of Bedard. “He’s a special player, someone we will have to be aware of tomorrow. (He’s) someone that’s going to help that franchise take the next step.”
Kane retuned to the Red Wings lineup Friday after missing nine games with an upper-body injury after hitting the boards awkwardly against the Tampa Bay Lightning during an Oct. 17 game. Kane described his time away from hockey as brutal — a sentiment with which longtime Hawks teammate Jonathan Toews would agree.
The Winnipeg Jets center returned to the NHL after taking a two-year hiatus to focus on his health. Kane said he has kept in touch with Toews, who on Oct. 30 faced the Hawks for the first time. Toews might’ve let him know he’s still going for Kane’s shootout-goal record — the two sit first and second all time.
“It’s a great storyline (and I’m) happy for him, he looks good out there,” Kane said of Toews, 37. “He’s feeling good, which is most important, but he also looks good as a hockey player. Good to check in on him and see how he’s doing.”