DETROIT — Patrick Kane smiled. The wait was over.
Kane became the highest-scoring United States-born player in NHL history, passing Mike Modano with an assist for his 1,375th point on an assist Thursday night for the Detroit Red Wings against the Washington Capitals.
“I could not be more proud for you,” Modano said on a prerecorded message shown on the video boards at Little Caesars Arena.
Kane passed the puck from the boards to Alex DeBrincat in the left circle, and DeBrincat set up Ben Chiarot for a tying goal from the point midway through the first period.
Kane flashed a grin and hugged Chiarot.
He was surrounded by teammates, including those who emptied the bench to join a brief celebration. As Kane skated away, the spotlight was put on him and he raised his stick to acknowledge the crowd while appearing to be on the verge of tears.
His likeness was shown on the video boards with an American flag in the background and the number 1,375.
Modano held the mark for 18-plus years. Kane reached the milestone a couple of months after turning 37, while Modano was 40 when he scored a goal to register point No. 1,374, passing Phil Housley.
Kane has been one of the faces of American hockey since the Chicago Blackhawks selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft. He helped the Hawks win the Stanley Cup three times from 2010-15 as a co-headliner of one of the most successful runs since the league’s salary-cap era began in ’05. He played 16 seasons in Chicago.
“When you think of USA Hockey, he’s one of the first players that comes to mind, if not the first player,” fellow American Jack Eichel said. “Such a great representation of USA Hockey and us Americans — something for a lot of the guys that came after him to strive to be, myself included.”
U.S.-born defenseman Charlie McAvoy recalled watching Kane on those long runs “do stuff that at the time people didn’t do.”
“His type of player just transcends now, when back then there wasn’t anybody that was really doing that,” U.S.-born defenseman Charlie McAvoy said. “He changed the game of hockey. He’s an absolute legend. And it’s great that he’s an American.”
Earlier this month, Kane became the 50th player and fifth American to score 500 goals, following Keith Tkachuk, Jeremy Roenick and Joe Mullen. Brett Hull, a dual citizen who was born in Canada and played internationally for the U.S., had 741 goals and 1,391 points.
“He’s well on his way to being the best USA player of all time,” countryman Jack Hughes said.
Kane won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2007-08, the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2013 and the Hart Trophy as regular-season MVP in 2015-16, when he also led the league in scoring.
“Such an iconic player, just played with such passion,” said Tage Thompson, who’s a first-time U.S. Olympian this year. “Very enthusiastic, loved scoring goals, loved making plays.”
Kane’s slick hands more than made up for him being on the smaller side at 5-foot-10 and less than 180 pounds.
“He’s maybe got the best highlight reel of all time,” Hughes said. “Just as a kid, you watch all of his videos and everything, and you’re like, that’s the guy you want to be just because of how skilled he is.”
Whyno reported from New York.