Patrick Kane reacted to the news that his longtime teammate with the Chicago Blackhawks, Jonathan Toews, retired from the NHL.
Kane and Toews were teammates in Chicago for 15 seasons, and they achieved plenty of success with each other along the way, winning three Stanley Cups together.
The dynamic duo, along with Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Patrick Sharp, and Maria Hossa, were the seven skaters who were on the three Blackhawks teams that won the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013, and 2015.
But if you ask most hockey fans, the two players they most fondly remember from their dynasty years were Kane and Toews.
Patrick Kane Reacts to Jonathan Toews’ Retirement
On Friday, Toews made it official that he was retiring from the NHL after 16 seasons — 15 with Chicago and one final one with the Winnipeg Jets.
Not long after the retirement was made official, Kane took to social media to congratulate his good friend and longtime teammate on his retirement from the game that he loves.
“Congrats to this legend on retirement. One of the best leaders the game has seen. I could not have asked for a better teammate to come into the league with and I’m proud of all our success together over the years,” Kane wrote on X.
What’s Next For Patrick Kane?
While Toews is now retired from the NHL at age 38, the 37-year-old Kane continues to play and will be looking for a new home this coming season after his latest one-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings is up.
Despite being one of the NHL’s oldest players, Kane is still very good. He played 67 games this past season for the Red Wings, scoring 16 goals and 57 points for the Red Wings. So, despite being one of the NHL’s elders these days, Kane is still an excellent player.
It will be interesting to see where Kane winds up next. While a return to Detroit can’t be ruled out, it feels unlikely that Kane will return to the Red Wings, as the team has missed the playoffs in all three of his seasons in Motown. At his age, Kane will want to go to a team that has a chance of not only making the playoffs but also winning the Stanley Cup.
Some of the teams that have been speculated as potential fits for Kane include the Minnesota Wild, the Buffalo Sabres, and the Florida Panthers. These are all teams that are expected to make the playoffs next season and have a chance to win the Stanley Cup, so it makes sense if Kane signed with any of them.
Really, any team in the league could use him. Even though he’s 37, he’s proven in his three seasons with Detroit that he is still an excellent player, and one that doesn’t need his longtime teammate in Chicago, Toews, to succeed.
Toews may have officially hung up his skates, but don’t expect Kane to do so anytime soon, given how well he’s been performing in recent seasons with the Red Wings.
Patrick Kane Reacts to Jonathan Toews Retiring From the NHL