Patrick Kane's return to Chicago with Red Wings 'will be pretty loud'

CHICAGO -- “Incredible.” 

When asked what the atmosphere will be like inside United Center on Sunday when Patrick Kane returns to Chicago on Sunday, his former Chicago Blackhawks teammate Jonathan Toews Toews summed it up best. 

Kane, the three-time Stanley Cup winner with the Blackhawks, returns for the first time as a member of the Detroit Red Wings (6 p.m. ET; BSDET, NHLN, NBCSCH, SN) and for those who played with him, it should be a hero’s welcome. 

“I mean, no one really understands how dedicated he has been to the game for so long," the former Chicago captain said via email of his longtime teammate. "He deserves to feel the love from the fans for what he’s put in all these years.

“That being said, he could have picked a better team to go to (laughs), but it will be fun to see the reception he gets.”

Kane is making his first appearance here since the Blackhawks traded him to the New York Rangers in a three-team deal that also involved the Arizona Coyotes on Feb. 28.

After having hip resurfacing surgery on June 1 and recovering, Kane signed a one-year, $2.75 contract with the Red Wings on Nov. 28. Though the rivalry between the two Original Six teams has cooled in recent seasons, seeing Kane in Chicago again in that jersey will be different.

“Look, there are obviously many more chapters to be written in Blackhawks hockey, but to this point, to me, Patrick Kane’s the greatest Chicago Blackhawk ever,” said former Blackhawks forward and television analyst Eddie Olczyk, now an analyst for the Seattle Kraken and TNT.

“To see him wearing a Red Wings sweater, it doesn’t look right, but some of the greatest players in the history of hockey have worn different sweaters.”

Regardless of the jersey, Kane’s return to Chicago is special. He helped rekindle Blackhawks hockey, a key force in winning the Stanley Cup three times (2010, 2013, 2015) and is one of the greatest United States-born players in NHL history.

“I can't imagine. I'm sure the fans will be pretty loud,” said New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin, who was Kane’s teammate in Chicago from 2015-17 and again last season with the Rangers.

“I don't know, if I'd be in his situation, I would cry for sure to get a feeling like that. It's pretty exciting for him. It's sad he left Chicago, but I hope he plays an awesome game against them.”

The No. 1 pick by the Blackhawks in the 2007 NHL Draft, Kane has 1,263 points (462 goals, 801 assists) in 1,206 career NHL games with the Blackhawks, Rangers and Red Wings. Of that total, 1,225 points (446 goals, 779 assists) came in 1,161 regular-season games with Chicago. He is second in Blackhawks history in points and assists behind Stan Mikita (1,467 points, 926 assists), third in goals behind Bobby Hull (604) and Mikita (541), and third in games played, trailing Mikita (1,396) and Duncan Keith (1,192).

He won the Calder Trophy, voted as the NHL rookie of the year, in 2007-08 and the Conn Smythe Trophy, voted most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2013.

This season, Kane has 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists) in 26 games with the Red Wings (31-20-6), who hold the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

“The one thing about his return this year and no matter what jersey he’s putting on, it’s exciting to see him healthy and productive,” Chicago general manager Kyle Davidson said.

“The NHL landscape is a better place when Patrick Kane is a part of it and healthy and playing well, and he seems to be doing that this year. So it’s just an exciting proposition, not only to see him playing but also see him return to the United Center.”

When Kane made his NHL debut in 2007-08, his impact was immediate. He had 72 points (21 goals, 51 assists) in 82 games and won the Calder.

“ 'Kaner,' from his rookie year on, you knew he was going to be a special player,” said Hall of Fame forward Denis Savard, who coached Kane in his first NHL season.

“The poise that he has when he has the puck, you can’t teach that. He makes so much room for his teammates. That’s what we’ll see down the road with (center) Connor (Bedard) as we progress in our movement with young players. He’s going to make everybody better around him. You can see that already.”

Bedard is the Blackhawks’ No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, their first No. 1 selection since Kane. Much like Kane, he’s expected to win the Calder Trophy as the League’s best rookie and much like Kane, he’s expected to help resurrect Chicago. Kane called Bedard not long after the 18-year-old was drafted.

“It's special for sure. A guy like him doesn't have to do that,” said Bedard, who understands the comparisons between him and Kane.

“If I can be anything like him, that's pretty great, the career he had. I'm my own person and player and everything, so I'll do what I do and he does what he does. He's had a special career of course, but it's hard to compare two guys.”

As long as Kane played for the Blackhawks, he was the last one off the ice at the end of warmups, flipping a puck to a fan in the stands before leaving. He was also usually one of the last on the ice after practice. Even as a veteran, Kane loved staying on the ice with young players, competing in various skills competitions.

He helped young players off the ice, as well.

“I was 20 years old when I got called up to play in the NHL, very immature at that point in my life," said former NHL forward Andrew Shaw, who played with Kane in Chicago from 2011-16 and 2019-21. "To have him as an older brother to kind of welcome me in the League, show me around the city, taking me to dinners, was pretty amazing to have.

“So I just think in that part of my life he was a big brother to me, a really good friend, made me feel at home, comfortable, let me be myself and helped me with my career as well.”

Kane getting traded marked the end of an era in Chicago. The Blackhawks had stated often last season they were rebuilding and Kane and Toews, who was not re-signed at the end of last season, would not be back. It was a difficult time for everyone involved.

“It was really tough because you’re in uncharted waters to some extent," Davidson said, "and there are difficult decisions to be made and then difficult situations to navigate, be it trading a player in a cap situation that other teams have to navigate on their end, but then there’s also the personal side of things.

“You’re moving a player who’s a legend of the club and that’s never easy, and you’re almost turning the page on an extremely exciting, memorable and revered era in Blackhawks hockey.”

Now in Detroit, Kane’s career seems to be coming full circle. He’s again trying to help a once ultra-successful franchise get back to winning ways. The Red Wings haven’t qualified for the playoffs since 2015-16 and last won the Cup in 2007-08. He also enters Sunday with eight points (three goals, five assists) in a six-game point streak.

Nobody’s surprised Kane has rebounded well from surgery.

“I'd be more surprised if he wasn't playing well than if he was,” said Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman, who played for the Blackhawks from 2014-18.

“Since he was a little kid, he's lived, breathed and died hockey. He's still like that, still loves the game, watches hockey non-stop at home. He's got a very addictive personality, and it definitely shows with hockey.”

Toews said Kane “looks great.”

“With what he’s been through and how quick he’s turned it around after this injury, he keeps doing his thing and making it look easy,” he said.

Kane’s return is going to stir a lot of emotions. There’ll be joy, excitement and probably a few tears. No doubt, it will also be memorable.

“For what [Kane] did, what he accomplished and the success this franchise has had under the years he played here, I think the roof will come off,” Olczyk said.

“Kaner’s got tremendous respect for the game and players who came before him, the history. He’s earned all the accolades and there are chapters to be written. When they’re all done, everybody will have their say and I’m just glad he’s back healthy and playing. That’s what he loves to do.”

NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen and NHL.com independent correspondent Jessi Pierce contributed to this report