Steve Yzerman can relate to Patrick Kane.
The Detroit Red Wings general manager once was in the same spot Kane is now -- nothing left to prove late in his career, headed to the Hockey Hall of Fame, returning from radical surgery, determined to keep going.
After doing his due diligence, he thinks the forward could play at a high level again after signing a one-year, $2.75 million contract with Detroit on Tuesday.
"Ultimately, we felt that this was worth the risk, so to speak, that he has a good chance of coming back," Yzerman said Wednesday. "He's definitely going to play. How effective he's going to be remains to be seen, but based on his health and his testing, I think he has a chance to be very effective."
Yzerman had won the Stanley Cup three times (1997, 1998 and 2002) and Conn Smythe Trophy voted as the playoff MVP (1998), among many accomplishments, when he had an osteotomy Aug. 2, 2002, at age 37.
The cartilage in his right knee had worn away to the point where he was grinding bone on bone. An osteotomy is a procedure that realigns the knee to redistribute weight. It is usually done on elderly people with degenerative bone disease.
Yzerman was the first professional athlete to come back from one. After a long rehab process, he returned to the Red Wings on Feb. 24, 2003. He played 16 games to finish that season and won the Masterton Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
He didn't retire until after the 2005-06 season; he totaled 22 NHL seasons, all with Detroit.
"I did love playing," Yzerman said. "I wanted to keep playing. I would have kept playing forever, honestly. I'm not sure if it was the right decision, but I loved to play, and that's all I'd ever done in my whole life.
"Patrick Kane's a competitive person. He wants to play hockey. So, yeah, I totally understand without having a long discussion on ‘Why do you want to do this?' I get it totally, for sure."
Kane had won the Stanley Cup three times (2010, 2013 and 2015) and Conn Smythe (2013), among many accomplishments, when he had hip resurfacing June 1 at age 35.
He had an impingement in his right hip, grinding bone on bone. Hip resurfacing is a procedure in which the femoral head is trimmed and capped with a smooth metal covering, while damaged bone and cartilage are removed in the socket and replaced with a metal shell. It is usually done on advanced arthritis patients.