Things haven't gone as planned for Patrick Kane upon returning to the Detroit Red Wings for his second season. This is after having an entire, healthy off-season to prepare.
There are far too many Red Wings underperforming in 2024-25, but Kane wasn't expected to be one of them. The future first-ballot Hall of Famer is amid one of the worst slumps of his career, and many fans are beginning to wonder if this is it. Are we witnessing the rapid decline many elderly players suffer late in their careers? Is that resurfaced hip becoming a problem? Or a combination of age, wear and tear, etc? Maybe, but I wouldn't count him out quite yet.
I'll be the first to admit that I was beyond excited to find out when general manager Steve Yzerman was able to come to terms with a one-year extension to bring back Kane, but I am as equally disappointed in his play this season, particularly his offensive production and lack of finish. You always know that Kane comes with some on-ice baggage. It's no secret that he's a defensive liability, but throughout his career his creativity and ability to drive offense always over compensated for his lack of defensive awareness and abilities. This season, as he continues to struggle to create offense, he's simply not able to overcome his defensive deficiencies.
The Detroit Red Wings need to make a lineup adjustment in hopes of unlocking Patrick Kane
As mentioned, Kane is struggling to create offense, primarily playing on the second line with what feels like a revolving door of centers and wingers game-to-game. Head coach Derek Lalonde needs to make a subtle adjustment in hopes of sparking the star winger.
Let's go over a few stats first, and then we'll talk about a possible line combination.
First, some more traditional stats. Kane has recorded three goals and 11 points over 25 games this season, and he's a minus-7. The 36-year-old winger has averaged over 17 minutes per night and maintained a Corsi For Percentage (CF%) of 43.7, significantly below his 51.9 career average. Kane's Relative Corsi For Percentage is -4.0, which ranks 18th in the Red Wings. In comparison, the team leader in this category is Alex DeBrincat, at 8.4%.
The deeper you dig, the more concerning things get. Kane's CF% of 43.7 ranks 16th on Detroit. Kane's Expected Goals For Percentage (xGF%) calculates the percentage of total goals for and against while a player or line combination is on the ice. At even strength, Kane is a team-worst at 35.94. In comparison, Simon Edvinsson leads the Red Wings in this analytical category at 53.26%, and Detroit's top forward in this regard is rookie Marco Kasper at 51.31%. Another similar metric is Scoring Chances For Percentage (SCF%). Similar to his Corsi For Percentage, Kane ranks 16th in this category with a SCF% of 45.02. Again, for comparison purposes, Detroit's leader is DeBrincat at 54.41%, followed closely by Lucas Raymond at 53.59%.
One more area that is frequently mentioned during broadcasts is high-danger scoring chances for and against. Kane has been on the ice for 78 high-danger chances and 69 against, which equals an HDCF% of 53.05 in all situations, which is fourth best among Red Wings players. So, a lot of those chances have likely come on the power play, but that number is a positive.
Considering all this, I'd like to see Lalonde, who loves to juggle his lines, slide Raymond to the left side and elevate Kane to the top line centered by Dylan Larkin. This gives Kane an opportunity to play with the top two Red Wings' forwards, and he'd be the third option on the line. Larkin and Raymond are both very efficient in the offensive zone and very reliable defensively. This move will help shelter Kane in the defensive zone and perhaps unlock his offense. Plus, playing with two finishers, such as Raymond and Larkin, at even strength, Detroit may be able to take advantage of Kane's creativity and playmaking abilities.
The move would help somewhat balance out the Red Wings lineup. Marco Kasper was expected to slot in as the second-line center on Saturday but was unable to play due to illness. If he's strong enough to return on Wednesday, Detroit can flank him with Vladimir Tarasenko and Alex DeBrincat. That leaves any combination of Christian Fischer, Michael Rasmussen, Andrew Copp, J.T. Compher, Tyler Motte, Jonatan Berggren, and Tyler Motte to round out the bottom six.
Recently, Kane spoke about how he hasn't had the puck enough this season and how he needs to be more assertive and aggressive on the forecheck. He also mentioned that he needed to demand the puck more moving forward. On Saturday night, Kane snapped a career-long nine-game pointless streak, recording an assist on Mortiz Seider's goal.