Patrick Kane’s homecoming carried all the noise United Center could offer, and the Blackhawks finally carried a win with it. Chicago beat the St. Louis Blues 4-2 on Tuesday for its first victory of the season, with Kane back in a Blackhawks sweater at the building where he became one of the franchise’s defining players.
The 37-year-old stepped onto the ice through a lighted No. 88 display as Scorpions’ “Rock You Like a Hurricane” filled the arena. Kane did not record a point, but the night was about more than the scoresheet for a player returning to Chicago after a long road away.
“It was special,” Kane said. “There was obviously a lot building up to the night. The warmup ovation and then getting ready for the introductions was emotional. Skating off, it felt surreal because you never knew whether you would get another chance to do that.”
Kane had last played at United Center on Dec. 13, 2025, while with the Detroit Red Wings. His previous appearance there as a Blackhawk came Feb. 21, 2023, a week before Chicago sent him to the New York Rangers.
Chicago selected Kane first overall in the 2007 NHL Draft, and he played for the club from 2007 through 2023 before returning on a two-year, $16 million deal signed June 23. His three Stanley Cup rings — from 2010, 2013 and 2015 — remain central to the bond between Kane and the building.
At United Center alone, Kane has put up 229 goals and 415 assists for 644 points in 582 regular-season games. His 1.11 points per game is the best mark by any Blackhawk with at least 50 games in the arena since it opened in 1994.
After the horn
Kane logged 20:55, third among Chicago skaters behind defensemen Alex Vlasic at 21:48 and Bowen Byram at 21:22. He finished with two shots on goal, one hit and one blocked shot.
The Blackhawks got scoring from a new generation on a night built around one of their old pillars. Defenseman Sam Rinzel and forwards Frank Nazar and Anton Frondell scored; Rinzel and Nazar are both 22, while Frondell is 19.
Rinzel, a Minnesota native, said the reception for Kane was something he had grown up imagining.
“I felt like a little kid in a candy shop,” Rinzel said. “Growing up in the United States and watching him, it was really cool to see. He has been unbelievable, and it could not happen to a better guy.”
Coach Jeff Blashill said Kane’s return offered a useful lesson for a young room that is trying to build its own identity.
“He would have been respected for the points no matter what,” Blashill said of Kane. “But he is loved here because of how much those teams won. For our players to take that in, and understand what winning means in this city, that is special.”
Two more figures from those championship teams were in the rink. Former captain Jonathan Toews and former defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson attended, and the crowd gave Toews a thunderous response when he appeared on the video board during the first period holding a No. 88 jersey.
Kane said he had seen former teammates earlier in the day and particularly enjoyed reconnecting with Toews. The two entered Chicago together, shared a room at rookie camp and helped establish the core that drove the franchise through its most successful modern stretch.
“It is crazy how quickly it all goes,” Kane said. “Thinking back to rookie camp, being roommates, hanging out and building something here was so special. I am pretty much the last one still standing from that group, so it is always great to see those guys.”
The win also ended an 0-3 start, a development Kane said mattered at home as much as it did in the dressing room. His 5-year-old son, Patrick III, had been tracking the standings and feeling the early-season frustration.
“He was really stressed the last few days with us being 0-3,” Kane said with a laugh. “He is checking the standings and everything already. He will be happy we got a win tonight.”
Kane sees promise in the players who supplied the offense against St. Louis. He believes the younger Blackhawks can grow together, establish chemistry on and off the ice, and become a stronger group as experience arrives.
For now, Chicago’s immediate task is simpler: improve on last season, stay in games, and keep collecting lessons — and wins — along the way.
