Patrick Kane re-signs with Red Wings on 1-year contract full of bonuses
DETROIT — It came down to the buzzer — again — but the Red Wings are keeping star winger Patrick Kane in Detroit for another year.
The future Hall-of-Famer signed a one-year contract extension with the team Monday, just hours before he was set to become an unrestricted free agent. The deal has a base salary of $3 million, and like last year, also carries up to $4 million in potential bonuses.
The benchmarks for those bonuses are:
If Kane plays at least 50 games, the deal will pay him $6 million, with another $1 million in bonuses tied to the team's success.
Kane has become a key piece for the Red Wings since first joining the team midway through the 2023-24 season. At the time, he was coming off a hip resurfacing surgery with little precedent for a highly impactful return to play.
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But Kane has changed that, scoring 41 goals and 106 points in 122 games with Detroit. He remains one of the game's most dangerous playmakers and has a sublime feel for the big moment, as evidenced by his 13 game-winning goals in that span.
Playing alongside former Chicago Blackhawks teammate Alex DeBrincat, Kane has brought significant offense to a team that sorely needed it. He's also been a driver on one of the league's top power plays, which last season finished fourth at a 27 percent conversion rate.
Kane has liked playing in Detroit, and his young son, Patrick III, has become a fixture outside the team's locker room on game days.
'It's been great,' Kane said late last season. 'Obviously really appreciative of Steve (Yzerman) and the organization to take a chance on me coming back from the surgery, and I think even last year it maybe didn't so much feel like it was home, or like it was my team, or the team I played for. But coming into this year, and especially now, I definitely feel like a Red Wing now. It's been a great place for me to continue my career, and I've really enjoyed it.'
Monday's deal ensures he remains a Red Wing for at least another season.
Detroit already needed an upgrade in the top-six this summer, so losing Kane would have only compounded that. By keeping him, they retain one of the smartest players in the sport's history, a clutch performer, and a highly-respected veteran in the dressing room.
Kane has largely been deployed in a second-line role in Detroit, and finished the most recent season playing alongside DeBrincat and breakout rookie Marco Kasper, whose blend of speed and edge fit perfectly between the two flashy wingers. It would certainly make sense for Detroit to keep that trio together to begin the season.
Just as importantly, it means the Red Wings are retaining their entire top power-play unit, which last season was arguably the team's biggest strength. — Max Bultman, Red Wings beat reporter
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