Kane: Would've been 'tough to say no' if Blackhawks wanted me for life

Patrick Kane's departure from the Chicago Blackhawks last season was well-documented, but he says it likely would never have happened had the organization committed to keeping him for the rest of his career.

If they came to me and said, We want you to be a Blackhawk for life. Can we work something out?' I think it probably would have been tough to say no, just because of what happened there and the success we had and just the relationship with the organization," Kane told The Athletic's Scott Powers.

The veteran forward waived his no-trade clause last February, allowing the Blackhawks to trade him to the New York Rangers. Kane departed Chicago after 16 seasons with the club that included three Stanley Cup championships.

"Being there for a long time and kind of being comfortable in the situation and just kind of what you do on a day-to-day basis, there's definitely some comfort in that," he said.

But I think it's been good for me to have some new experiences. And even though it didn't go as well as I'd hoped in New York, I still thought that was a great experience for me. Even here, coming to Detroit, kind of a team on the rise that can have some success, it's been fun to be here and try and build that with this group."

Kane's nagging hip injury limited him in his brief tenure with the Rangers. The American winger collected only five goals and seven assists over 19 games before adding a goal and five assists in seven playoff contests. His recovery from offseason hip surgery forced him to miss nearly two months to start this campaign before he signed with the Red Wings as a free agent in late November.

Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson has overhauled the roster since taking over from Stan Bowman, who stepped down in October 2021. The futures of Kane and fellow ex-franchise fixture Jonathan Toews were persistent storylines last season as Davidson made it clear he was leaning toward more of a youth movement.

Toews eventually decided to take time away from hockey this season, the first campaign the club has played without him since 2006-07. Kane and Toews both debuted with the Blackhawks in 2007-08.

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