Blackhawks haven't ruled out bringing back franchise icon

After his storied tenure with the Blackhawks ended via a trade to the Rangers in 2023, star winger Patrick Kane may have the opportunity to return to Chicago in free agency this summer. The team’s front office will likely hold internal discussions over the next few weeks about re-signing him, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic.

Kane is slated to hit the UFA market this summer after completing the one-year, $2.75M contract he signed with the Red Wings in November after recovering from hip resurfacing surgery. He would likely be open to a return if offered by general manager Kyle Davidson, Powers said.

A three-time Stanley Cup winner, Kane looked revitalized in Detroit after a difficult, injury-plagued season split between Chicago and New York. The 35-year-old put up 20 goals, 27 assists, 47 points and a -5 rating in 50 contests after returning to play, increasing his points per game average to 0.94 after putting up 0.78 in 2022-23.

Kane’s possession metrics were below average (48.4 CF%, 49.2 xGF% at even strength), but that’s nothing new. He’s been a decisively below-average player defensively ever since his last championship with Chicago in 2015. While the Wings narrowly missed the playoffs, he helped them breach the 90-point mark for the first time since 2016. Their 278 goals were also their most in a season since advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in 2009.

His return to the form you’d expect from him as he enters his late 30s is impressive, considering the previous track record of players returning from hip resurfacing procedures. The surgery ended the careers of once-top-flight talents Nicklas Bäckström, Ed Jovanovski and Ryan Kesler.

Powers said the strong relationship between Kane and the Blackhawks organization remains intact and that Davidson “made sure Kane’s departure was as smooth as possible” when trading him to the Rangers last season. But if the organization does decide to bring him back, he’d likely end his career there, Powers said. If he intends on playing longer than the team thinks he’d be useful to their rebuild, Powers believes that will likely push Chicago away from re-signing him.

During Kane’s initial 16-year tenure in the Windy City, he scored 446 goals and 779 assists for 1,225 points in 1,161 games. The 2007 first-overall pick ranks second in franchise all-time scoring behind Hall-of-Famer Stan Mikita, although first is likely out of reach for Kane as he trails him by 242 points.