Patrick Kane’s first night back in a Blackhawks sweater will come Tuesday at United Center, where Chicago opens its 2026-27 home schedule against the St. Louis Blues. The 37-year-old forward returns to the club with which he won three Stanley Cups, bringing 16 Chicago seasons and the distinction of the NHL’s highest-scoring U.S.-born player into a building that knows every one of his big moments.
- Kane signed a two-year contract with Chicago on July 23 worth $16 million, carrying an $8 million average annual value.
- The Blackhawks host the Blues on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. Broadcast coverage is listed on BN+, STLNHL and CHSN.
- The game marks Kane’s first Chicago appearance since Feb. 21, 2023, his last United Center game as a Blackhawk.
- After leaving Chicago in 2023, Kane played 19 games for the New York Rangers before spending three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.
- The winger made his first NHL home appearance at United Center on Oct. 6, 2007.
- Known as “Showtime,” Kane is returning to the franchise that shaped the bulk of his NHL résumé.
What Kane’s return means for the Blues game
Chicago’s opener has the feel of more than a routine divisional date. Kane will step back into the anthem noise, the familiar United Center sightlines and a fan base ready to welcome back one of the cornerstone players of the Blackhawks’ championship era.
There is no shortage of precedent for a star revisiting an old home in an opponent’s uniform. Brad Marchand went back to Boston with the Florida Panthers last season. Ed Giacomin’s emotional Nov. 2, 1975 appearance at Madison Square Garden came just days after the Rangers had placed the goaltender on waivers and Detroit claimed him.
Phil Esposito returned to Boston Garden as a Ranger on Dec. 11, 1975, roughly a month after his trade. Gordie Howe came back to Detroit with Hartford on Jan. 12, 1980. Wayne Gretzky made his first Edmonton return as a Los Angeles King on Oct. 19, 1988, two months after the trade that stunned the Oilers. Guy Lafleur, coaxed out of retirement by Rangers general manager Phil Esposito, returned to the Montreal Forum on Feb. 4, 1989.
Mark Messier revisited Edmonton on Jan. 23, 1992 as Rangers captain. Patrick Roy’s Montreal return with Colorado on March 5, 1997 came less than 15 months after the Canadiens dealt him to the Avalanche, a trade still argued over in Montreal.
Kane’s situation carries a different charge. This is not merely a former star arriving with a new club; it is a reunion with the team he rejoined after time away. A few NHL greats have made that kind of return twice, including Wendel Clark with Toronto and Luc Robitaille with Los Angeles.
Past return acts that set the bar
Ted Lindsay’s Detroit comeback arrived on Oct. 15, 1964, after the Hall of Famer had played 13 seasons for the Red Wings, spent three seasons in Chicago and retired. Former linemate Sid Abel, then Detroit’s general manager, persuaded him to play one last season. Lindsay recorded no points and 12 penalty minutes in a 5-3 loss to Toronto at Olympia Stadium.
Bernie Parent’s return to Philadelphia on Oct. 11, 1973 became the start of something much larger. Parent had gone from Boston to the Flyers in the 1967 expansion draft, then to Toronto in a Feb. 1, 1971 multiplayer trade before joining the WHA in 1972. Toronto still controlled his NHL rights and moved him back to Philadelphia on May 15, 1973. In his first game back, he stopped 28 shots in a 2-0 shutout of the Maple Leafs. He later helped the Flyers win the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975.
Clark’s first Maple Leafs return on March 15, 1996 produced a goal and an assist, including the winner, in a 3-0 victory over Dallas. He had started in Toronto in 1985-86, departed for Quebec and the Islanders, then later left again for Tampa Bay, Detroit and Chicago before returning to the Leafs for a second time in 1999-2000.
Robitaille’s first Los Angeles comeback came Oct. 12, 1997 after three seasons split between Pittsburgh and the Rangers. The longtime Kings forward scored the decisive goal, added an assist and finished plus-4 in a 7-4 win over Ottawa. He played four more seasons in Los Angeles, spent 2001-03 in Detroit, then returned to the Kings again for his final two NHL seasons.
Messier’s return to the Rangers on Oct. 11, 2000 also had a storybook finish. Following three years in Vancouver, the captain of New York’s 1994 Cup team came back for his last four NHL seasons and scored the winner in a 3-1 victory against Montreal.
- Ron Hextall, Philadelphia, Jan. 21, 1995: 23 saves on 26 shots in a 3-1 loss to Quebec.
- Patrick Marleau, San Jose, Oct. 13, 2019: one assist and one shot in a 3-1 win over Calgary.
- Teemu Selanne, Anaheim, Oct. 10, 2005: one goal and two penalty minutes in a 4-2 loss to Edmonton.
- Chris Osgood, Detroit, Nov. 1, 2005: 23 saves on 24 shots in a 4-1 win against Chicago.
- Roberto Luongo, Florida, March 7, 2014: a 25-save shutout in a 2-0 win over Buffalo.
Tuesday offers Kane his own new entry in that file. The building will be loud, the welcome will be warm, and the Blues will be the opponent when the puck drops.
