Patrick Kane is heading back where it all started. The Chicago Blackhawks signed the veteran winger to a two-year, $18 million deal Thursday, bringing him back to the franchise where he won three Stanley Cups and became one of the most iconic players in team history.
The move reunited Kane with a familiar name, even if only over text message. Jonathan Toews, who retired after his final NHL season with the Winnipeg Jets in 2025-26, didn’t hold back when asked about his old running mate coming back to the United Center.
“Awesome news, pretty cool to see him get the chance to go back,” Toews told The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus and Scott Powers. “The team is heading in the right direction and he’ll bring such good experience and leadership for the young guys in that room. (It) will be cool for the young stars to see first-hand what impact they can have when Kaner gets back on the ice at the United Center.”
But he also admitted something else. Something honest.
“We were texting and as happy as I am for him I told him I’m straight-up jealous that he’s gonna get to play for the Hawks again.”
That’s about as real as it gets from a guy who built his legacy alongside Kane. The two formed the core of Chicago’s dynasty, winning titles in 2010, 2013 and 2015. Now Kane is the last active player from that era still in the NHL, per Lazerus and Powers.
Kane still has juice
The 37-year-old spent the last three seasons with Detroit after a 2023 trade that sent him from Chicago to New York and then to the Red Wings. Injuries have slowed him a bit — he appeared in 50, 72 and 67 regular-season games over the last three years — but the production hasn’t fallen off a cliff.
In 2024-25 he put up 59 points in 72 games. Last season he followed that with 57 in 67, including 24 points in his final 22 games after March 1. For a guy turning 38 during the season, that’s still legit top-six production.
Kane will join a Blackhawks team that hasn’t sniffed the playoffs since 2020. They’ll start the season without star forward Connor Bedard, who’s recovering from shoulder surgery. So Kane won’t just be a nostalgia act. He’ll be expected to create offense and provide leadership for a young roster still figuring things out.
Three former Hawks on the roster
Kane won’t be walking into a completely unfamiliar room. Three ex-Blackhawks teammates are already in Chicago — defenseman Alex Vlasic, forward Teuvo Teräväinen and goalie Arvid Söderblom. That should help with the transition.
Kane last played a full season for Chicago in 2021-22, when he put up 92 points in 78 games. The flashy playmaking and puck-handling wizardry that made him the NHL’s highest-scoring U.S.-born player should still be on display, even if the team around him isn’t quite ready to contend.
The bigger question isn’t whether Kane can still play. It’s whether he can help drag a franchise out of a six-year playoff drought. The Blackhawks have the pieces to build something, but they’re not there yet. Kane’s return adds a veteran presence and a proven winner. Whether that’s enough to make a real difference is what everyone will be watching.
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