Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews played a lot of hockey together as cornerstones for the Chicago Blackhawks.
The forwards were roommates on the road and partners in helping rebuild the Blackhawks, who won the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
So, it’ll probably feel a little strange when Kane and the Detroit Red Wings (23-14-3) host Toews and the Winnipeg Jets (15-18-4) at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday (6:30 p.m. ET; FDSNDET, SNP, SNW, SNO). The two have played against each other in international competition, including the 2010 Vancouver and 2014 Sochi Olympics (Kane for the United States; Toews for Canada), but this will be the first time in an NHL game.
“I mean, I think it’s always strange when you have those moments when you’re reminded of how different things are,” Toews said. “For a long time, it was almost like this dream scenario that you couldn’t draw up any better. Obviously, we were so blessed in so many ways.
“But yeah, it’ll be a strange moment to kind of snap out of that and realize, ‘Oh yeah, we’re playing for different teams now. We’re going up against each other.’ That being said, we’re both very competitive, so it’ll be a lot of fun.”
Toews returned to hockey this season after a two-year hiatus due to health issues, signing a one-year, $2 million contract with his hometown Jets on July 1. He missed the entire 2020-21 season due to Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome and nearly two months of the 2022-23 season while dealing with the effects of long COVID-19. The 37-year-old has 893 points (375 goals, 518 assists) in 1,104 games with the Blackhawks and Jets, including 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 37 games with Winnipeg this season.
Kane, who missed six straight games with an upper-body injury before returning for Detroit in its 3-2 overtime win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, has 1,366 points (498 goals, 868 assists) in 1,327 games with the Blackhawks, New York Rangers and Red Wings. The 37-year-old, who is two goals from 500 in his career, has 23 points (six goals, 17 assists) in 25 games this season.
“Yeah, it wasn’t just us, but we were the face of it, right? It was really fun to build it up with and it was great to play with Jonny too,” Kane said of their time together in Chicago. “We obviously roomed together right off the bat, kind of got to bounce some things off each other, especially when we started and always had that competition too. Not where we wanted to really one-up each other, but I think we really pushed each other to reach his potential.”
It’s going to seem strange to their former Blackhawks teammates as well.
“‘Weird’ is the word that comes to my mind,” said former forward Patrick Sharp, who played with Toews and Kane in Chicago from 2007-15 and 2017-18. “Hopefully they get a picture at center ice, one wearing a Jets uniform and one wearing a Red Wings uniform and we’ll come to terms with it then.
“It reminds me of the greatness that they had in Chicago when I’ll see them out there against each other.”
Toews was the No. 3 pick by the Blackhawks at the 2006 NHL Draft, and Kane went No. 1 the following year. Each made his Chicago debut in 2007-08 and were there until 2022-23, when Kane was acquired by the Rangers before the Trade Deadline, and Toews wasn’t re-signed at the end of that season.
