Kane had signed a prorated one-year contract last season, played well and showed no adverse signs of hip resurfacing surgery, but talked hesitantly about his future with the Wings. The prevailing thought was, there was likely no future with the Wings.

DETROIT – A 57-year-old and a 4-year-old will have a significant influence on whether Patrick Kane returns to the Detroit Red Wings. The older guy is coach Todd McLellan. Kane was struggling to find his game in late December. Then McLellan arrived and Kane prospered.

Kane tallied 59 points in 72 games this season. Although his per-game production dropped from a year ago (he scored 0.94 points per game last year to this season's 0.82 average), Kane proved to be a key presence on the Red Wings' power-play unit, racking up 29 PPP.