Patrick Kane Anticipates Facing Blackhawks in February as Chris Chelios’ Jersey is Honored

Patrick Kane looks forward to playing Blackhawks in late February when Chris Chelios’ jersey heads to rafters

originally appeared on
NBC Sports Chicago

Patrick Kane was in talks with the Detroit media for the first time Wednesday after signing a one-year contract with the Red Wings.

Unfortunately, Kane won’t play on Thursday when the Blackhawks head to Detroit for the first time this season. However, he’s eagerly awaiting to play them at the United Center on Feb. 25 — the same night Chris Chelios will have his jersey hung in the rafters.

“Obviously, you have New York and Chicago on the schedule. It would’ve been nice to play those games,” Kane said. “But I think it’ll be a pretty special night in Chicago in late February there when [Chris] Chelios’ jersey is going up. Hopefully, we make it up with that one.”

Regarding Chelios, who also played for the Blackhawks before moving to the Red Wings, Kane revealed that he spoke with the legend two weeks ago.

According to Kane, they didn’t talk much about the rivalry. “I talked to him a few times,” Kane said of Chelios. “I just kind of asked him about the city, the situation, the organization, and how he liked it here. It never really came up too much about the Blackhawks-Red Wings rivalry, to be honest with you.”

Kane’s move to Detroit was both unsurprising and surprising. Detroit has long been rumored to be of interest to Kane. However, there were numerous teams in the running, including the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, and the Colorado Avalanche.

He decided to join the Blackhawks’ most notorious rival, dating back to the 1980s. Kane believes that the rivalry has “faded” a bit and claimed the Blackhawks, in his day, looked up to the Red Wings. “It was always a team we were striving to be,” Kane said.

What made Detroit an attractive destination for Kane was his familiarity with the area, having moved to Detroit when he was a freshman in high school. He also played hockey in Ann Arbor, and reuniting with Alex DeBrincat, who signed a three-year deal with the Red Wings in the offseason, played a factor.

Despite the strange feeling of putting on the Red Wings jersey at the team’s morning skate, Kane pushed the rivalry to the side, stating, “For the right situation, sometimes you put that stuff to the side a bit. I loved my time in Chicago. I loved everything about being a Blackhawk. But sometimes you move on to different things and you look for different opportunities and situations. This seemed like the right one.”

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