This is a next level of betrayal. The Detroit Red Wings have made some pretty shocking with their signing of Patrick Kane today considering Kane is…a BLACKHAWKS LEGEND!
I’m sure this won’t upset the Blackhawks fans at all, right?
Despite playing in Chicago for 16 years, winning three Stanley Cups with the team, and becoming arguably the greatest player in Blackhawks history, Patrick Kane has made massive news as he signed a 1-year, $2.5M deal to become a brand-new Detroit Red Wings player. And, even though the rivalry isn’t nearly as strong as it was all those years ago, I still can’t believe Kane signed for the Red Wings.
So, maybe I’m just living too much in the 2000’s and early 2010s (when I was growing up) and remembering the vicious battles the between the Red Wings and the Blackhawks in those decades and the 80+ years prior Detroit’s conference realignment in 2013/14, but I still can’t believe Patrick Kane decided to sign with the Red Wings after spending so long and Chicago and making his legendary name know with under the Black Hawk logo.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I think this is a fantastic move for Detroit…if Kane can play hockey at a high level again.
Hip resurfacing surgery, which is what Patrick Kane underwent this past offseason, really has been the bane of hockey players with former Panthers defender Ed Jovanovski, former Canucks superstar (and the 2010/11 Selke winner) Ryan Kessler, the literally definition of a journeyman former center Mike Silinger (he played for 12 teams in 17 years), former Penguins and Capitals winger Carl Haglin, and Capitals legend Niklas Backstrom all have had the surgery.
And all of them either were forced to retire immediately afterwards (Kessler & Haglin…who actually cited a past eye injury as the reason why), play a few games and then retire (Jovanovski), live in peace in retirement (Sillinger), or play for a few games and then be sent to long-term IR (Backstrom this year). Yeah, not a great track record.
So, even though Kane said he’s feeling like himself again, I’m not so sure we’ll actually see the great Patrick Kane (or even a Patrick Kane who can just play hockey) ever again. But, if we do and Kane can get back to scoring even 55+ points in a season (as he did last year with the Rangers and Chicago), let alone 92+ point tallies as he did in his last full season in Chicago back in 2021/22, then the Red Wings have made a FANTASTIC signing.
A healthy Patrick Kane will immediately make this Red Wings Top-6 units into one of the most dangerous in the NHL and a true playoff contender. That’s for certain.
But that’s not why I’m writing this article. I’m writing this article to point out how insane it is that a Blackhawks legend has just signed a 1-year deal to play for the franchises’ most hated, fiercest, and historic rivals in the Detroit Red Wings to essentially wrap up his career.
Again, I know the rivalry isn’t nearly as fierce as it once was with the two teams being in two different conferences, but there’s 100+ years of history between these two franchises.
And Kane is just going to stroll over to the Red Wings? If the 100+ years of history doesn’t convince him not to sign with Detroit, then I would have thought the vicious playoff battles the Blackhawks and Red Wings had in 2009 (which the Red Wings won) and again in 2013 (which the Blackhawks won) during the final years of the Red Wings dynasty and the early days of the Blackhawks dynasty would have warded him away. But I guess not.
I guess he only had the Red Wings knocking on his door and…wait, what’s that? The Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars, New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, and the Florida Panthers all wanted him, yet he choose the Red Wings over these teams? Really?
So, maybe I’m being an old head here, but I still really don’t like this Kane going to the Red Wings move from a historic, rivalry standpoint.
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