The Athletic’s Harman Dayal examines the best unrestricted free agents remaining on the marketplace. He has this to say about Patrick Kane, who has pluses and minuses, but still brings star power:
Patrick Kane
Kane will turn 38 in November, but he still racks up points and provides legitimate secondary offense. The iconic American scored 57 points in 67 games, which translates to a 70-point pace prorated over 82 games. He’s still a prolific producer at both even strength — his 2.03 points per hour at five-on-five ranked second best among Detroit Red Wings forwards — and on a team’s first-unit power play due to his vision, hands and creativity.
There’s a decent chance his even-strength production will taper off a bit next season; his line scored on 12.1 percent of its shots at five-on-five, which is unlikely to repeat itself. He’s also a drag defensively, which needs to be factored in. He still has plenty of game left to help a team offensively, however, provided the lineup and power-play fit are right.
Continued; again, Patrick Kane’s agent, Pat Brisson, happens to be Dylan Larkin’s agent, which has me assuming that Kane will sign elsewhere.
That being said, he’s had a positive impact upon the Wings’ young players in leading by example both during games and especially during practices (Kane is a “rink rat” for sure, and his preparation skills were tremendous).
The Wings are a better team for having had Kane on their roster, and they would be a better team if he re-signed.
