{"id":281382,"date":"2025-11-09T14:17:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T14:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/281382\/"},"modified":"2025-11-09T14:17:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T14:17:15","slug":"patrick-kane-feels-like-he-belongs-in-detroit-now-even-though-blackhawks-progress-has-impressed-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/281382\/","title":{"rendered":"Patrick Kane feels like he belongs in Detroit now, even though Blackhawks’ progress has impressed him"},"content":{"rendered":"

DETROIT \u2014 It\u2019s hard to believe this is already Patrick Kane\u2019s third season with the Red Wings, but it is. He\u2019ll log his 129th game with the winged wheel adorning his chest Sunday against the Blackhawks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Half of Kane\u2019s brain also finds that hard to believe. The other half finds it normal and comfortable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like a Red Wing now,\u201d Kane told the Sun-Times on Saturday. \u201cObviously, there\u2019s a great history and past with what we did in Chicago, but it feels like a different era, right? Both sides moved on. When I watch them, it feels like a different organization, a different team. You feel like you belong here now.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s squarely focused on helping the Wings break their own long playoff drought, not wondering when the Hawks will break theirs. The Wings are off to a promising start at 9-6-0, although they have lost three of their last four games.<\/p>\n

Kane has appeared in only six of those games because of injury, but even as his 37th birthday approaches, there\u2019s no denying he has held up remarkably well<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He accumulated 59 points in 72 games last season and has five in six this season. He remains a very crafty playmaker. He has gone year-to-year with his contracts with the Wings, re-signing as a free agent each summer, and there\u2019s no indication either side will seek to alter that pattern in 2026.<\/p>\n

Kane\u2019s brain hasn\u2019t changed, either, not that anyone expected it would. His IQ and vision on the ice remain elite, even if his physical abilities no longer are \u2014 in similar fashion to Jonathan Toews in Winnipeg<\/a>. Kane\u2019s encyclopedic knowledge of hockey history, stats and schedules isn\u2019t fading, either.<\/p>\n

Speaking of schedules, he has one upcoming date mentally circled: New Year\u2019s Eve at home against the Jets.<\/p>\n

That will mark his first time facing Toews in a regular-season game. They\u2019ve been texting each other \u201ca lot\u201d the last few months, and Kane admitted that matchup is \u201cgoing to be so weird.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, we have throughout our lives \u2014 [like] when we were kids \u2014 played against each other,\u201d he said. \u201cWorld juniors, world championships, Olympics and World Cup, as well. We\u2019ve done it before. We just haven\u2019t done it in the NHL. So it\u2019ll be a little different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even when Kane watches the NHL on his free nights, he no longer prioritizes watching the Hawks above everybody else. He just flips on to them from time to time.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, he has been pleasantly surprised by what he has seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone thought they would be one of the bottom teams in the league, and they\u2019re competing,\u201d he said. \u201cIt seems like they\u2019re kind of rolling right now. They\u2019re finding ways to win games and do it on the road. A lot of their young, up-and-coming players have taken the next step, so that helps.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has been particularly impressed by Connor Bedard<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a special player,\u201d Kane said. \u201cHe\u2019s able to control the puck and make plays that other guys can\u2019t. That\u2019s just the reality of it. He does what other guys can\u2019t do in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n

Red Wings coach Todd McLellan also hyped up the Hawks on Saturday, echoing similar narratives that other opposing coaches have brought up this fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir overall confidence level is much higher because they\u2019ve earned the right to be confident,\u201d McLellan said. \u201cIt starts with Bedard. But they have structure right now that allows them to predict where things are going to go.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DETROIT \u2014 It\u2019s hard to believe this is already Patrick Kane\u2019s third season with the Red Wings, but…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[385,99],"class_list":["post-281382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/281383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}