This won’t go over well with many Detroit Red Wings fans for good reason, but free agent forward Patrick Kane is reportedly ‘keeping an eye’ on Detroit in the early going.
Kane, the soon-to-be 35-year-old, is recovering from off-season hip surgery and says he’s feeling better than he has in years and continues to weigh his options. There is no firm timetable as of yet for Kane’s return to action, but speculation is that he will be ready sometime in December.
Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff has mentioned the Detroit Red Wings as a potential destination for Patrick Kane. In addition to Detroit, Seravalli also tabbed the New York Rangers, where Kane finished last season, and his hometown Buffalo Sabres as possible landing spots.
Patrick Kane is keeping an eye on the Detroit Red Wings.
I’ll toss you a third team. This is by no means an exhaustive list; these are not the only teams on Kane’s radar. I’ll give you another thought that those close to him have noticed he’s been keeping an eye on. That’s the Detroit Red Wings. Certainly, a surprise to me when I first heard it, but I have to tell you that the idea of getting Kane and Alex DeBrincat relinked has stood out to many. But the Red Wings are another team; let’s see how this season develops before we make any judgments.
Also, I want to mention right away. Just because Kane is eying the Detroit Red Wings doesn’t necessarily mean that general manager Steve Yzerman is courting the veteran forward. Putting all of his off-ice history aside, Kane is a tremendous player. Still, there is no guarantee that he will be anywhere near the player he had been just a couple of years ago following hip surgery. Although there are exceptions, players often start to decline once they hit their 30s and sometimes, by 35 years old, fall completely off. This hasn’t been the case with Kane to this point, but I would have some concerns following the recent injury.
As mentioned by Seravalli above, with Alex Debrincat joining the Red Wings knowing the chemistry he and Kane created in Chicago and with Detroit trending upward now, it doesn’t surprise me that they are mentioned.
DeBrincat scored 41 goals twice, playing on a line with Kane. Although Lucas Raymond is gelling wonderfully on Detroit’s top line, having Kane and DeBrincat flanking Dylan Larkin is, at the very least, intriguing. I will say this: Larkin is a fantastic two-way center, but playing between two offensive gifted wingers is one thing, but trying to cover for both wingers in the defensive zone is another. Both DeBrincat and Kane grade out well below average defensively. Kane would lengthen Detroit’s lineup offensively and allow Raymond to play with Rasmussen and Compher or Copp and Perron.
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The future Hall of Famer is coming off a 21-goal, 57-point season between the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers a season ago. That is still valuable top-nine production, but at 35, does he fit the Yzerplan? When considering the long-term future, the answer is no, but if the Detroit Red Wings find themselves firmly in the playoff mix come Christmas and New Year’s, perhaps adding a depth-scoring threat such as Kane would be a piece to put them over the top. Think of the move as a pre-trade deadline addition but without having to give anything up.