DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills provides one more article which discusses Patrick Kane’s comments made to the media on Monday:
Kane, who spent his first 16 NHL seasons and won three Stanley Cup championships with the Chicago Blackhawks, said that Red Wings fans quickly helped Detroit feel like home.
“I love the fans,” Kane said. “I thought the fans really embraced me too. You never really know what to expect, especially me being in Chicago for so long and coming to Detroit. I know that’s a huge rivalry, but just the embrace of the fans was incredible.”
But Kane was no stranger to Detroit prior to joining the Red Wings last season.
In 2003, Kane moved from his hometown Buffalo, N.Y., to play youth hockey in the metro area, where he lived with former Red Wings forward Pat Verbeek in Birmingham, Mich. Kane also played two seasons (2004-06) with the U.S. National Team Development Program, which was based in Ann Arbor at the time.
Kane said off-ice comfortability factored into his decision to re-sign with the Red Wings.
“I think the suburbs in Detroit are unbelievable,” Kane said. “I lived there when I was 14 but when I came back, I didn’t realize how nice they were and what a great spot it is to live and raise a family. You have a lot of options, whether it’s playing hockey or the schools at your disposal. I really like how (Little Caesars Arena) is set up with the practice rink and the game rink all in one venue. I think the organization treats you first class, so there’s a lot of good things going if you’re a free agent or a player and you want to come to the Red Wings.”
Continued; it’s still a little strange to see Kane in a Red Wings uniform, but I’m not surprised that Kane’s praising the Metro Detroit area as a good place to raise a family, or the Red Wings’ facilities as state-of-the-art. There’s a reason that so many players who come here toward the end of their careers end up retiring here.
