Patrick Kane ties Mike Modano as American hockey reaches a new era

Patrick Kane didn’t need a goal horn, a curtain call, or a pregame ceremony to make history Tuesday night. He did it quietly, the way so many of his greatest moments have unfolded over the last two decades — with a pass.

An assist on an Alex DeBrincat goal late in the Detroit Red Wings' 3–1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings gave Kane his 1,374th career point, tying Mike Modano for the most ever by a U.S.-born player in NHL history. Modano reached that number at age 40. Kane got there just months after turning 37. And if history is any guide, Kane won’t be sharing that record for long.

On the surface, it’s a Red Wings story. Another milestone in a season that’s been filled with them. Another reminder that Kane’s renaissance in Detroit is no nostalgia tour — he’s still driving offense, still reading the ice two steps ahead, still finding seams that most players don’t even know exist.

But this moment is bigger than Detroit. Bigger than the Red Wings. Bigger than Kane himself, even. It's an American hockey landmark.

Patrick Kane set to break Mike Modano's points record for U.S.-born skaters

For decades, Modano was the north star for U.S.-born skaters. The first American to truly look like a franchise center. The face of hockey in non-traditional markets. The player who made it normal for kids in Texas, California, Michigan and beyond to believe that the NHL wasn’t a foreign dream.

Modano’s record stood not just as a statistical benchmark, but as a cultural one — the ceiling for what an American player could be. Now Kane is there with him. And in doing so, he completes a generational handoff.

Where Modano proved Americans belonged in the NHL’s elite, Kane proved they could define it.

Kane didn’t just succeed in a Canadian-dominated league. He reshaped it. The creativity. The swagger. The street-hockey imagination. The confidence to try things you weren’t “supposed” to try. He became the first American Hart Trophy winner. The first American Conn Smythe winner. A three-time Stanley Cup champion. The face of a Chicago Blackhawks dynasty. The most influential U.S. skater the sport has ever produced.

And now, statistically, he stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the man who made all of that possible.

Every American kid who laces up skates today grows up in a different hockey world than the one Modano entered. They grow up in a world where Americans win scoring titles. Where they captain Original Six franchises. Where they headline Winter Classics. Where they are not novelties — they are stars. Kane helped build that world.

This milestone isn’t about passing a number on a leaderboard. It’s about closing a chapter in American hockey history and opening another. Where Modano was the pioneer, Kane was the revolution. And the fact that the torch is being passed in real time — with Kane still playing, still producing, still shaping games — is a rare gift.

Soon, Kane will stand alone at the top of that list. One more point. One more pass through traffic. One more flash of genius.

When that happens, it won’t just be a Red Wings note. It will be a moment for USA Hockey. For every rink in Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Massachusetts, California and Texas. For every kid who grew up wearing red, white and blue because players like Modano made it possible — and players like Kane made it cool.

Records can be broken. Legacies change the sport. And right now, Kane is doing both.