Patrick Kane says the call that helped steer him back to Chicago came fast, and it came from the top.
In an interview Monday on “Pardon My Take” in Chicago, Kane said Blackhawks owner Danny Wirtz reached out almost immediately after free agency opened on July 1, 2026 at 12:01 p.m., Eastern time. Kane called it an “emotional call” and said it changed the way he viewed his options.
Three weeks later, Kane signed a two-year, $16 million deal to return to Chicago, the place where he won three Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
“If you were to ask me last year, at the end of the season, I thought I would be going back to Detroit,” Kane said in the interview. “Danny (Wirtz) called me at 11:03 (Central time) or something, as soon as free agency opened and it was actually kind of an emotional call from him, a call I'll never forget.
“All of a sudden you start thinking about, okay, well, there's interest. Maybe it'd be a cool place to come back and play.”
Kane said he had floated the idea of a Chicago return in his own mind during the regular season, though he didn’t see it as something close to happening.
“There was a moment maybe a year ago where you're like, I can see myself kind of going back there at the end,” he said. “Maybe a little bit, but nothing like too serious where I thought it could actually happen. I think things just kind of worked out at this stage, where they're trying to take a step as a team.
“I was a free agent and feeling good about my body, about myself, about my game. Obviously they made some big moves this summer, getting (Bowen) Byram and signing Connor (Bedard), some other players coming in, some free agents, some veteran guys.
“I thought it would be a great fit, not only because I'm living in Chicago or because I played for the Blackhawks, but because I actually think it's a good fit for me personally as a hockey player. I'm excited about it. It's going to be great.”
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