Patrick Kane has joined an exclusive club, becoming the 50th player in NHL history to reach 500 goals.
Kane, 37, recorded the huge milestone when he scored twice in the Detroit Red Wings’ game against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, Jan. 8, picking up No. 500 on an empty-net score with 3:53 left.
The goal, in his 1,332nd career game, gave Kane 1,369 points, six shy of breaking Mike Modano’s mark for most points (1,374) by a United States-born player.
The Buffalo, New York, native is the fifth U.S.-born player with 500 NHL goals. The others: Joe Mullen (502 in 1,062 games), Jeremy Roenick (513 in 1,363 games), Keith Tkachuk (538 in 1,201 games) and Modano (561 in 1,499, including four in 40 games with the Red Wings).
Kane is a guaranteed first-ballot Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, having established himself as one of the best players in the game since being drafted at No. 1 overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2007. Kane went on to win the 2008 Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year, and during a decade and a half with the team was crucial to winning the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015. Kane was named the Conn Smythe winner as playoff MVP in 2013.
In 2015-16, he became the first American-born player to win the Hart Memorial Trophy as the most valuable player, and that same season he also captured the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s scoring champion.
As the Blackhawks went into a rebuild, Kane OK’ed a trade to the New York Rangers on Feb. 28, 2023. However, his tenure with his second Original Six franchise was short-lived. Following the Rangers’ first-round exit, Kane underwent invasive hip surgery that came with a four-to-six month recovery period.
Kane came to the Wings with 451 goals and 1,237 points in 1,180 games. He made his debut Dec. 7, 2023, and right away showed he still had it at age 35. The Wings re-signed Kane to one-year deals in each of the summers of 2024 and 2025.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
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