Kane, Red Wings have 'mutual interest' in forward's return next season 

DETROIT -- Patrick Kane is leaving the door open on returning to the Detroit Red Wings for his 20th season in the NHL.

“I think there is mutual interest for me to come back and continue my career here,” the 37-year-old forward said during the Red Wings' season-ending media availabilities Friday. "It’s been a great spot for me, my family and my son, and I’ve definitely enjoyed my time here. But there’s no rush -- I’ll talk things over with my agent and my family, and we’ll see how everything plays out.

“I’d love to be part of the solution that gets this team over the hump. We have a good team here, and we can win. I think this team is better than some teams that are in the playoffs.”

The Red Wings were 32-16-5 on Jan. 24, in first place in the Atlantic Division and tied with the Carolina Hurricanes atop the Eastern Conference with 69 points each, but went 9-15-5 the rest of the way, in large part due to a lack of scoring and an inability to hold leads late in games.

They finished 41-31-10, seven points out of a playoff spot, and missed the postseason for a 10th straight time, the longest active drought in the NHL.

But Kane, who won the Stanley Cup three times with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010, 2013 and 2015, still managed to show some of the flash from earlier seasons. He was fifth on Detroit in scoring with 57 points (16 goals, 41 assists) in 67 games, scored his 500th NHL goal on Feb. 28 and broke Mike Modano’s League record for points by a United States-born player (1,375 points) now with 1,400 points (508 goals, 892 assists) in 1,369 games.

He had 24 points (seven goals, 17 assists) in his final 20 games, and his line with Alex DeBrincat and Andrew Copp was the Red Wings' most consistent down the stretch.

“I thought we would still be playing now,” Kane said. “I think everyone in the locker room is somewhat embarrassed right now, because we know there were some games we just gave away. We all need to look in the mirror and figure out how to be more competitive next year.”

Kane has reached the point of his career where he’s playing on one-year contracts loaded with incentive clauses. He’ll need to reach an agreement on another one with Red Wings president Steve Yzerman, but he hopes that will be a simple task.

“I still think I have the ability to elevate my game at the most important times,” he said. “I’ve always been able to do that throughout my career, and I still think that’s something that lives within me.”

DeBrincat said he's eager to see Kane sign that new contract.

“Obviously, we all hope he comes back - he’s a huge part of this team,” DeBrincat said. “We’re really working toward something, and it obviously hasn’t happened yet, but he sees it too. That’s why he came here in the first place.

“But ultimately, it is his decision. We can beg him all we want, but we have to wait to see what happens.”

DeBrincat has played nine years in the NHL, and a teammate of Kane's in eight of them, only missing 2022-23, when he was with the Ottawa Senators. In five years together with the Blackhawks and three with the Red Wings, they have become one of the highest-scoring American duos in League history.

“I love playing with Alex, and we have a great friendship and a great relationship,” Kane said. “I’d love to keep playing with him.”

Kane, who has seen great players and great leaders in the course of his career, is full of praise for Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin.

“Dylan’s a great leader, and he wants to win more than anyone else,” Kane said. “I think he brings that feeling for everyone. When he was injured, I think guys wanted to play well and win for him.”

Larkin entered the Olympic break with 51 points (26 goals, 25 assists) in 58 games, then played a key role helping the United States win the gold medal at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics. He was still going well when NHL play resumed, with four points (two goals, two assists) in his first five games, but took a shot to the knee during a 4-3 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on March 4.

Two nights later, in a 3-1 loss to the Florida Panthers, he made a sharp cut and his knee gave out. He missed eight games, and was clearly struggling when he returned.

“That was unfortunate, but I was kind of lucky that it wasn’t worse,” Larkin said Friday. “I was able to come back, but I was still in pain for a while. It was an unbelievable feeling, like, why now?”

Despite the injury, Larkin played in 11 of Detroit’s final 12 games, putting up 13 points (six goals, seven assists), including his third NHL hat trick in a 6-3 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on April 9.

“We just got tight down the stretch,” Larkin said. “We’re all playing each other and fighting for one or two spots, and we allowed some other teams to get in ahead of us.”

Larkin didn’t say if he would need offseason treatment for his knee, but expects to put in a full summer of training and be healthy in time for training camp next season.