Detroit Red Wings right wing Patrick Kane celebrates after he scores his 500th career goal in the third period against the Vancouver Canucks at Little Caesars Arena. Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Patrick Kane joins NHL legends in elite club with 500th career goal amid Red Wings' playoff push

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Jan 8, 2026 10:46 PM ET

The Detroit Red Wings are in a good position to finally snap their nine-year playoff drought this season, and they continued that push on Thursday night with a 5-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Veteran forward Patrick Kane played a big role in that win, scoring two goals.

The second of those goals was a milestone goal for him as it was the 500th of his career.

Patrick Kane becomes fifth American-born player with 500 career goals

The 500-goal mark is a big deal in any context, and Kane is the 50th player in NHL history to reach it.

Even more rare is that he is only the fifth American-born player to get there, joining a list that includes only Mike Modano, Keith Tkachuk, Jeremy Roenick and Joe Mullen.

His goal was an empty-net goal on Thursday.

Here is a look at it.

SHOWTIME'S GOT 500 NHL GOALS‼️ pic.twitter.com/PQfeu7TTLk
— NHL (@NHL) January 9, 2026

Kane joined the Red Wings at the start of the 2023-24 season and has now scored 49 of his goals with the team.

He spent the bulk of his career with the Chicago Blackhawks, where he helped the team win three Stanley Cups and scored 446 goals with the team. He also scored five goals during a brief stay with the New York Rangers at the end of the 2022-23 season.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

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