Former Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane spent plenty of time at United Center, both for practices and games during his tenure with the club.
Not only did he raise the Stanley Cup for the third time in his career at the venue, but he also gave scores of Blackhawks fans countless memories from throughout the first part of his Hall of Fame career.
Kane, who spent a brief stint with the New York Rangers in 2023 after being dealt at the NHL trade deadline, is now in his second full season with the Detroit Red Wings.
Saturday evening will mark his third return to United Center with the Red Wings, the second of which was in November of last season as part of a 4-1 Detroit victory.
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Following their morning skate on Saturday, Kane admitted that it's still a bit strange suiting up in the visiting dressing room at the venue he called home from late 2007 through early 2023.
"A little different, obviously," Kane said about the opposition dressing room. "I spent so much time here, usually you're walking past it to the Hawks locker room, and I never really saw this one until a few years ago. It's always fun to come back."
Perhaps the most notable moment of his time in Detroit came during his initial return to Chicago in February 2024, during which he was honored with a lengthy video tribute and a minutes-long standing ovation from the crowd, and then capped the night in classic Kane-like fashion by scoring a dramatic overtime game-winning goal on a breakaway.
Since then, Kane has agreed to one-year contract extensions to remain in Detroit, signing deals on June 30, 2024, and June 30, 2025.
He is on the precipice of two major career milestones: he sits at 497 goals, just three shy of 500, and is only 10 points away from tying Mike Modano as the highest-scoring U.S.-born player in NHL history.
While Kane’s place as perhaps the greatest U.S.-born player in NHL history is already secure, another American-born player who could one day lay claim to the title of the greatest U.S.-born defenseman is Quinn Hughes.
Hughes was traded on Friday evening to the Minnesota Wild, ending speculation that he could land with Detroit given his multiple connections to the metro-Detroit area. Like the rest of his teammates, Kane had been following the progress of where Hughes would ultimately wind up.
"I think Quinn's a great player, he's one of the special players in the League that can take over a game individually, and there's only a handful of those," Kane said of Hughes. "You hear a lot of rumors, and the Red Wings were part of that, too. I was definitely following to see what was going to happen. He's a great kid and a great player, I'm sure he'll do well in Minnesota."
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