Detroit Red Wings forward Patrick Kane is defying age, playing a pivotal role in their recent win over the Calgary Flames with two goals and an assist in Thursday’s win over the Montreal Canadiens. That gives Kane, who’s nearing the end of his age-37 season, 12 goals on the year and 41 points in 54 games. While he’s not the player he was in his prime, Kane remains one of the NHL’s more formidable top-six forwards.
Detroit Red Wings Must Prioritize Bringing Back Patrick Kane
Kane has missed time this season with injuries, but when you average his current point totals, he would have been on pace for 62 points across 82 contests. He’s also a perfect complement for Alex DeBrincat, and the two have connected for 23 goals this season, with DeBrincat providing assists for both of Kane’s goals against the Flames on Monday.
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Heading into Thursday night’s contest, Kane’s 51.3 Corsi For at even strength was his best since the 2017-18 season when he was still with the Chicago Blackhawks. Kane also remains a force on a Red Wings’ power play unit that has struggled this season, with 11 of his 29 assists coming on the man advantage.
Naysayers might claim Kane’s 8.8 shooting percentage is a sign that he’s in more of a decline than meets the eye. But Kane has finished with a shooting percentage in the single digits seven times so far in his legendary career. He’s simply not afraid to take shots at the net, and with 136 so far in 2025-26, Kane’s averaging just over a solid 2.50 shots on goal per game.
Keeping Patrick Kane Around is Cost-Effective for the Red Wings
If the Red Wings want to keep their core group together, trade for elite yet cost-effective talent, and sign their most productive youngsters long-term, keeping Kane works in their favour. He’s at the stage in his career where he’s playing on one-year deals worth $3 million with performance incentives.
That would solve an immediate issue for the Red Wings at forward, and it would keep them from thrusting a player who could use more reps in Grand Rapids or isn’t ready to play full-time in a top-six role into the spotlight too soon.
This strategy would also allow Kane to slowly cede minutes to a younger player when the time is right. It would also come with little controversy, as Kane would be in his age-38 season. Everyone would expect players like Michael Brandsegg-Nygard or Nate Danielson, should they put him at winger instead of centre, to see an increase in ice time.
Kane’s Veteran Leadership is a Noteworthy Intangible
While the Wings core keeps coming together during a time when they’re routinely in contention in March, they have also been prone to collapse. Having someone like Kane around to keep overseeing this team’s growth will remain valuable even if his ice time will slowly decline at some point.
Still, he’s been productive enough to, in a worst-case scenario, fall into a depth-scoring role on the bottom six once his days as a regular staple in the top six ends. He has proven that point time and again this season, regardless of whether he’s scoring or putting teammates like Alex DeBrincat in a prime position to find the net.
Most importantly, Kane has shown that he can step up and help fill the void Dylan Larkin has left as the captain continues to recover from a lower-body injury. Throughout the rest of the duration of time Larkin misses, it will be up to players like Kane to keep playing a steady, solid game to keep the Wings in a prime position to earn a Stanley Cup Playoff berth.
If that trend continues, then it’ll be more than non-negotiable: bring Kane back for another year and let him help the team in multiple ways.
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