The Minnesota Wild are still stuck waiting on clarity in the Dylan Larkin trade saga, and that uncertainty only deepened when Steve Yzerman stepped down as Detroit Red Wings general manager. Until the Wings hire a replacement, the whole situation is on hold.
Then Thursday morning delivered a jolt.
Sportsnet NHL insider Eliotte Friedman reported that Patrick Kane is headed back to the Chicago Blackhawks on a two-year contract, and Chicago quickly made it official with a “welcome back 88” message.
For Wild fans, that’s the kind of news that lands like a punch to the gut. Kane spent years making Minnesota miserable, and his return to Chicago brings back plenty of bad memories.
The Wild saw the best of Kane up close during the Blackhawks’ run as an NHL powerhouse in the 2010s. Chicago won three Stanley Cup titles in five years, and Minnesota had to watch that machine roll through the Central.
The two teams met in the playoffs three straight years from 2013 to 2015, and Chicago won every series. Kane was right in the middle of it all.
In the 2013 Western Conference quarterfinals, he piled up five assists in a five-game Blackhawks win. In the 2014 second round, he had one goal and four assists in six games.
In the 2015 second round, he added one goal and six assists as Chicago swept Minnesota. Across those matchups, the Wild managed just three playoff wins against Kane and the Blackhawks.
The regular season numbers aren’t much kinder. Kane has 26 goals and 31 assists in 62 career games against the Wild.
What makes the move even stranger is the price Chicago paid. Kane, now 37, is being paid $8 million per year on a two-year deal, and the contract includes a full no-movement clause. By the end of it, he’ll be 39.
That kind of commitment suggests the Blackhawks had to work hard to bring him back. Buffalo was the other finalist, and a Sabres deal would have come with its own storyline, since Kane was born and raised there.
Chicago’s front office has already shown a willingness to spend big. Before the draft, the Blackhawks sent the No. 4 pick to Buffalo for defenseman Bowen Byram, then locked him up on a six-year, $75 million extension. Once that deal begins after the 2026-27 season, Byram will carry the highest annual salary among defensemen at $12.5 million.
The Blackhawks are clearly trying to push out of their rebuild and back into the playoff picture, and Kyle Davidson is making aggressive bets to speed that up. Kane’s return fits that approach.
Minnesota, meanwhile, still sits in a strong position in the Central Division race even without a true No. 1 center. But that doesn’t make seeing Kane back in Chicago any easier for Wild fans.
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Dylan Larkin Buzz Puts Stars Fans Back In A Familiar Debate
Dylan Larkins offseason trade request has already put a familiar name back into the conversation for Minnesota, with the Wild among the few teams he can be dealt to under the terms of his no-trade clause. The setup alone is enough to keep the rumor mill spinning, especially with Detroit still sorting out its front office and the list of possible landing spots narrowed to a handful of contenders.
For the Wild, the intrigue is less about the idea of adding a player of Larkins caliber than about how long this could drag on. Salary-cap pressure is part of the equation for the teams involved, which makes the timing murky and leaves open the possibility that nothing happens before training camp, or at all. [Read more 🡒]
Olli Maatta Gives Wild A Steady Presence They Desperately Need
A veteran left-shot defenseman with a reputation for calm, dependable work, Olli Maatta gives the Wild exactly the kind of stabilizing presence teams often miss when the blue line gets stretched thin. Minnesota brought him in as part of the Jacob Middleton trade, and the appeal is obvious: steady minutes, composure, and a player whose value comes from making life easier for everyone around him rather than chasing offense.
Maattas track record matters here, too, because the Wild are not just looking for another body on the back end. His postseason experience and low-event style fit a group that needs mistakes kept to a minimum, and his ability to settle a pairing could be especially useful as Minnesota tries to firm up its defensive structure. The question now is how quickly he can turn that steady reputation into the kind of reliable presence the Wild have been seeking. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Blackhawks Just Got Personal Again For Minnesota Fans
For a lot of Minnesota fans, the Blackhawks were never just another Central Division opponent in the early 2010s. Patrick Kane was at the center of those years, when Chicago repeatedly stood in the way and turned games between these teams into something bigger than a regular-season meeting. The rivalry has cooled since then, especially as Chicago went into a rebuild and Minnesota settled into its current competitive core, but the old edge never fully disappeared.
Now the matchup carries a different kind of pull again, with Chicago trying to build around Connor Bedard while Kanes presence gives the series a familiar face from a bitter era. It is not the same as those playoff-heavy seasons, but it does make the games feel a little more personal for Wild fans, and a little more worth circling on the calendar. [Read more 🡒]