Blackhawks reunite with Patrick Kane, signing him to two-year contract 32%
By Ben Pope68%
7/23/2026, 8:07:00 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 28 faulty reasoning types, including Anecdotal, Biased Writer Voice, and Halo Effect, with Appeal to Emotion as the most egregious example at 21.5% saturation with 171 hits. Analysis detected 1,284 faulty-reasoning hits from 797 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 40.8% and a BS Rank of 32% (15,052 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 68.80% of the article peer group.
Patrick Kane is coming home — to his adopted home, not his childhood home.
The Blackhawks legend reunited with the team Thursday, signing a two-year contract that carries an $8 million salary-cap hit.
Kane, who grew up in Buffalo, spent the last three weeks deciding between offers from the Hawks and Sabres.
For Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson, bringing back Kane after trading him to the Rangers three years ago represents a much-needed crowd-pleasing move — and a pivot from a previous stance.
“Day in and day out for 16 seasons, Patrick captivated the city of Chicago with his dazzling skill, creating some of the most memorable moments in Blackhawks history as he helped bring our storied franchise back to the pinnacle of our sport,” Davidson said in a statement.
“He’s shown on countless occasions that he knows what it takes to win at the highest levels, and we couldn’t be prouder for Patrick to once again call the United Center home and continue to shine in Chicago’s brightest lights.”
Kane’s agent, Pat Brisson, said via text that Kane is “extremely excited,” adding that Chicago is “where he belongs.”
two more years of S H O W T I M E 🍿 pic.twitter.com/ZTc6Xhi3ef
- Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) July 23, 2026
Hawks fans are extremely excited, as well.
They’ve endured a lot of losing and bad news over the last six years, and they deserved something to celebrate.
This certainly qualifies.
“[There were] tears when the push notification popped up,” Hawks fan Colin McMahon said.
“Lived through the bad years and the good years.
This is wonderful.”
“I got a 6 a.m.
ESPN alert out here in [Arizona],” fan Garell Jordan said.
“Then I woke up my husband.
Then we went and got celebration waffles.
Life is good.”
“I literally dropped my phone and threw my arms in the air,” James Leach said.
Kane is 37 years old but remains a productive wing, recording 163 points in 189 games over the last three seasons with the Red Wings — including 57 points (41 of which were assists) in 67 games last season.
The Wings narrowly missed the playoffs all three years.
He followed his former team fairly closely throughout his absence, praising the Hawks’ “up-and-coming players” and Connor Bedard’s ability to “make plays that other guys can’t” to the Sun-Times last November .
Kane won’t be able to start the season next to Bedard while the latter recovers from shoulder surgery, but they likely will play together eventually.
Bedard made an impassioned pitch for Kane to sign earlier this week, dreaming about the “juice” that will flow through the United Center for Kane’s first home game Oct.
6.
Kane’s contract contains a full no-movement clause, according to the Hawks.
It also gives him a massive raise — in other words, it overpays him — considering he made between $2.75 million and $4 million in each of his three seasons with the Wings.
The Hawks easily can fit $8 million in the short term, though.
When Davidson dealt Kane and declined to re-sign Jonathan Toews in 2023, he explained he wanted to give the Hawks’ new generation — including Bedard — a blank slate to grow into leadership roles instead of deferring to franchise legends.
And in 2024, Davidson said he didn’t foresee going back on that decision.
Two years later, Davidson indeed has gone back on it — wisely.
He evidently believes enough of that leadership growth has occurred that Kane’s return won’t disrupt it.
Toews’ retirement also might have made this decision less complicated; bringing back one of the two legends might have been awkward.
Kane already had been training at Blackhawks Ice Center this summer, wearing his old Wings jersey.
According to the Hawks, he was on the ice again Thursday morning, apparently following his normal routine, only this time wearing a Hawks jersey.
He and Davidson will discuss the signing at a news conference Friday.
Latest on the Blackhawks
Connor Bedard happy with new deal, Blackhawks' additions but would love to see Patrick Kane return
Bedard raved about Bowen Byram and Ian Cole — and the possibility of Kane — on Monday from his backyard in Vancouver, where he will spend the rest of the offseason rehabbing his shoulder.
Connor Bedard's agent spells out contract talks with Blackhawks, decision on shoulder surgery
Agent Don Meehan discusses why the sides compromised on a five-year term, how they reacted to Leo Carlsson’s offer sheet and what the outlook is for Bedard’s shoulder after he had surgery in Colorado.
Connor Bedard signs five-year contract as Blackhawks complete biggest offseason task
One day after his 21st birthday, Bedard inked a deal Saturday that carries a $15 million salary-cap hit.
Speakers
6speakers34%attributed speech528writer words
Voice mapSelect a segment to jump to its words
Selected voice
100%flagged-word coverageJames Leach
15 attributed words5.6% of attributed speech66% writer coverage
Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.
Loading…
Loading…
Loading…
Analysis
Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.