Red Wings Players To Watch In 2025-26: Patrick Kane

The man they call “Showtime” decided that it was time for another repeat performance in the heart of Hockeytown.

Patrick Kane, a first-ballot future Hall of Fame forward, once again decided to forgo free agency and agreed to a one-year, $3 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings for what will be his second full campaign with the club he joined in December 2023.

Both Kane and GM Steve Yzerman expressed mutual interest in another extension, which was finalized on June 30. The new contract includes multiple performance-based bonuses.

While the Red Wings’ 2024–25 season ended in disappointment as they fell short of securing what would have been their first Stanley Cup Playoff berth since 2016, Kane expressed optimism in the club’s coaching staff and believes it will go a long way in achieving that goal next season.

“I’m still optimistic about the group and I think we’re closer than we were at the end of last year,” Kane explained during his season-ending media session. “It’s such a fine line. We were on a pretty good pace from when Todd [McLellan] came in.

“I think that will huge going into next season, the confidence in the coaching staff.”

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Since joining the Red Wings, Kane has become an integral part of their offensive attack as well as the power-play.

He put any concerns about his durability following a risky hip-resurfacing surgical procedure during the 2023 offseason to rest by tallying 20 goals and 27 assists in the 50 games he skated in, a near point-per-game scoring pace.

While his start to the 2024-25 NHL season was slow, he immediately began regaining his form following the coaching change from Derek Lalonde to Todd McLellan this past December and finished with 21 goals and 38 assists.

Kane especially thrived playing alongside rookie center Marco Kasper as well as his former Chicago Blackhawks teammate Alex DeBrincat on Detroit’s second line, a unit that will likely remain in place for the start of the upcoming campaign.

Red Wings Players To Watch In 2025-26: Marco Kasper
When Steve Yzerman returned to the Detroit Red Wings in April 2019 to take over the role of general manager, he didn’t have much to work with in terms of enticing prospects, but since then he has built one of the most highly regarded prospect pools in the NHL. 

Arguably Detroit’s best stickhandler since Pavel Datsyuk, Kane remains as creative on the ice as ever and would love nothing more than to be part of the solution to bring postseason hockey to Little Caesars Arena for the first time in the venue’s history.

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