After spending sixteen years in Chicago, American-born NHL star, Patrick Kane has made his return to the United Center with the Detroit Red Wings. Patrick Kane was drafted first overall in the 2007 NHL draft. During his long career in Chi-town, Kane helped the Hawks to three Stanley Cup championships. While playing for sixteen years in Chicago, Kane played 1,161 games and scored 446 goals and 779 assists. This remarkable career in Chicago earned him a spot in the top 100 NHL players of all time and the greatest American-born player.
On a historic day February 25th, Patrick Kane arrived at the rink and was greeted by former teammates Marian Hossa, Dunkin Keith, Brent Seabrook, and Patrick Sharp. Before the game, a special tribute was held to retire former BlackHawk, Chris Chelios’ number seven. During this speech, Chelios acknowledged Kane that one day he would be in the same spot as him. The recognition started Kane’s emotional return to the ice, and following the ceremony, Patrick Kane started his normal warm-up routine as he had done for many years prior. Following that, he skated back on for the start of the first but for the first time on the visiting side. A few minutes into the game, a TV timeout happened, and the Kane tribute was played. He did not seem phased by it at all, but after skating around three times to a standing ovation, Kanes’ game changed. Late in the third period, Patrick Kane helped assist another former Blackhawk, Alex Debrincat, to help put the Red Wings up 2-1. In one very surprising play in the game, Blackhawks rookie, Connor Bedard, laid a rare hit on the Hall of Fame-bound Patrick Kane. The Hawks would tie the game in the third which would result in overtime. Then, 1:43 into the third on a pass from Alex Derbrincat, Kane would have a breakaway that would be historic. He skated down the ice, looked back quickly, and scored top shelf on goalie Petr Mrazek. Following the goal, he skated to the Chicago fans celebrating, but the arena had a rare cheer for an away team. After the team celebration, Kane took one more lap to thank the great Chicago crown for his former time in Chicago and skated off. This goal secured Kane a historic achievement, which was scoring on every NHL team and leaving another achievement in Chicago.
