Patrick Kane opens up about Blackhawks’ rebuild, joining Red Wings, hip surgery and more

DETROIT — Patrick Kane looks good, sounds good and feels good, too.

After several years of pain in his hip and uncertainty about his future, the 35-year-old NHL veteran has found comfort and clarity after undergoing hip resurfacing surgery in June, rehabbing throughout the summer and deciding this week to sign with the Red Wings.

After an hourlong skate Thursday at Little Caesars Arena, he opened up about a variety of topics, discussing how he has come to terms with this post-Blackhawks era of his career.

Wings, not Hawks

When the Hawks won the draft lottery for the No. 1 pick last summer, Kane can’t deny he was curious if they would reach out to ask if he was interested in mentoring Connor Bedard. He didn’t take it personally, though, that they didn’t.

“I never really knew, right?” Kane said. “Especially after that first pick, I was like, ‘OK, maybe they’ll try and bring [Jonathan Toews] or myself back.’ But it seems like they’re heading in a different direction now. [I] didn’t hear from them, but I’m thinking they’re trying to rebuild and get their young players in there.

“When I was a young guy, it really helped having some older guys around like Robert Lang, Martin Havlat, Yanic Perreault and Patrick Lalime. ... That made it pretty easy on me, too. It seemed like they wanted to go in a direction where they were going to bring in some different type of veterans. It’s what it is.”

That meant he shifted his focus toward the various other teams with which he was considering signing — before ultimately choosing the Wings. He believes the Hawks-Wings rivalry has “died out a little bit” in recent years, so that element never crossed his mind, although he is certainly excited for his Feb. 25 return to Chicago.

“[I’ve been] thinking about...the chance to play with [Alex] DeBrincat again and develop that chemistry — with this team in general, not just with him,” he said. “Detroit was always in the back of my mind [as] a potential place to play.”

Still, the Chicago door isn’t completely closed — at least in his mind — for the future. In general, he doesn’t want to change teams too many times during the remainder of his career, hoping to give his 3-year-old son some stability.

“There’s always a piece in the back of your mind that maybe [going back to the Hawks] could potentially happen — even down the line or in the future,” he said. “You never know. I love the city, loved my time there with the organization.”

Hip injury and surgery

After the Rangers’ season ended with a first-round exit May 1, Kane took a full month to assess the options for his hip.

Part of that process involved reflecting on his increasing pain over the past few years — since feeling the first twinges of trouble during the 2020 playoff bubble in Edmonton.

For a few years after that, he remained productive, and he convinced himself he could “still be an effective player” in spite of the hip issue, just not quite “at the level I was before.” Last season, however, changed things. He felt DeBrincat and Dylan Strome’s departures and his worsening hip problems led to a subpar season.

“It’s almost more mentally tough than physically,” he said. “You’re going on the ice, you’re playing a game in the NHL, and you’re thinking about how your body is going to feel instead of just playing the game.”

He considered a labrum repair surgery — a more common, less invasive option — but he determined that would’ve only extended his career by one or two more years and could’ve potentially led to even more pain.

He also talked to Capitals veteran Nicklas Backstrom, who underwent hip surfacing surgery in summer 2022.

“It was the right move to do the resurfacing,” Kane said. “Obviously, I wouldn’t say it’s completely proven, but I know when I talked to Backstrom, he was feeling well and excited about the upcoming year. I know he’s away from the game [now], but I’m not sure if it’s completely from the hip problems. I don’t want to speak for him, but from what I heard last, he was feeling good with his hip. So that’s reassuring.

Kane won’t play Thursday against the Hawks — he needs more time to ramp up and integrate into the Wings’ system — but he told reporters Wednesday he’s hoping to make his season debut sometime next week.

“The first couple games, maybe I’ll be thinking about [my hip] a little bit, but hopefully it gets to the point where you take a few hits,” he said. “Even taking hits, taking contact [so far], nothing’s really shown up throughout the whole rehab. [I’m] excited, confident and very optimistic where I’m at and where I can go from here.”

This and that

Kane said he and Toews still text each other “a lot,” and Toews has told him he misses hockey.

“It seems his intention is to take the year off and then go from there,” Kane said. “It sounds like he’s doing better, so hopefully he’ll be able to come back.”

Kane has also watched parts of numerous Hawks games on TV this season. He has been impressed by Bedard, to whom he gave some advice back around the draft.

“It’s great for the league to have a player of his caliber in that market,” he said. “Obviously [I’m] happy for the organization and for Connor, too, to go to a city like that.”

“It seems like he’s already got a good head on his shoulders. From afar, it seems like he’s already a pro, right? You see him staying on the ice after practice [and] the way he takes care of himself, things like that. It’ll all go well with him.”