Kane's Blackhawks homecoming sparks memories of other NHL second acts

Patrick Kane will stand on United Center ice Tuesday night, the Chicago Blackhawks' arena roaring in a futile attempt to drown out no-microphone-needed anthem singer Jim Cornelison.

The most prolific point-producing United States-born player in NHL history, the sniper nicknamed "Showtime," is sure to once more absorb the spine-tingling energy that Blackhawks fans generate, having lived that for 16 seasons, when Chicago plays the St. Louis Blues in their 2026-27 home opener (8 p.m. ET, BN+, STLNHL, CHSN).

At least figuratively, the three-time Stanley Cup champion's welcome back to Chicago will bring the house down, following a detour that included 19 games with the New York Rangers in 2022-23 and the past three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.

Chicago's Patrick Kane in action at United Center on Oct. 6, 2007, his first NHL game on home ice.

There have been a great many homecomings in NHL history, games in which a player returns in the visitor's jersey to compete in a city where he made a massive contribution, skating into the hearts of fans.

Former Bruins captain Brad Marchand returned to Boston a year ago this month, in a Florida Panthers uniform.

Fifty years earlier, there was the emotional Nov. 2, 1975 return of Ed Giacomin to Madison Square Garden, the beloved Rangers goalie having been plucked off waivers by the Red Wings days earlier.

Phil Esposito was back in Boston Garden on Dec. 11, 1975, having been traded to the Rangers a month earlier. The legendary Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe, returned to Detroit on Jan. 12, 1980, now with the Hartford Whalers. Wayne Gretzky was back in Edmonton on Oct. 19, 1988, the Great One having been traded to the Los Angeles Kings that August. Guy Lafleur skated back into the Montreal Forum on Feb. 4, 1989 with the Rangers, lured out of retirement by New York general manager Phil Esposito.

Patrick Kane during the 2007 NHL Top Prospects luncheon on May 30, 2007 in Anaheim, California.

Add two more to the list: Mark Messier's return to Edmonton on Jan. 23, 1992, as captain of the Rangers; and goalie Patrick Roy's rafters-rattling Montreal homecoming March 5, 1997, having been traded to the Colorado Avalanche on Dec. 6, 1995, that trade still hotly debated by Canadiens fans.

But truly special are the homecomings of a player to the same team that largely defined his career. Kane's return to the Blackhawks is the latest in that category, the Chicago sniper having signed a two-year, $16 million contract ($8 million average annual value) on July 23.

On a few occasions, a player has returned to his team twice, Wendel Clark to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Luc Robitaille to the Kings proving that you indeed can go home again, and again.

A capsule look at a selection of the newsworthy "re-debuts" that have stirred fans, players embraced upon their return:

Ted Lindsay (r.), Sid Abel (c.), and Gordie Howie of the Detroit Red Wings pose together before Detroit's game on Oct. 15, 1964 at Olympia Stadium. It was Lindsay’s first game back with the Red Wings, coming out of retirement for his final season.

• Ted Lindsay, Red Wings, Oct. 15, 1964: "Terrible Ted" played the first 13 seasons of his Hall of Fame-bound career in Detroit (1944-57), then was traded to the sad-sack Black Hawks on July 23, 1957, during a run of Chicago missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs 11 times in 12 seasons (1946-58). He played three seasons in Chicago, helping to instill a winning attitude in a team that would win the Stanley Cup in 1961, one season after his retirement. He returned for one final season in Detroit, lured back by Sid Abel, his former linemate turned Red Wings GM. The feisty Lindsay had no points but 12 penalty minutes in his first game back wearing the winged wheel, a 5-3 loss to the Maple Leafs at Olympia Stadium.

Bernie Parent of the Philadelphia Flyers in action at Maple Leaf Gardens during the 1975 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Parent returned to the Flyers the previous season and led Philadelphia to consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 1974 and 1975.

• Bernie Parent, Philadelphia Flyers, Oct. 11, 1973: The Montreal native played the first his first two NHL seasons with the Bruins before being claimed by the Flyers in the 1967 NHL expansion draft. He was traded to the Maple Leafs in a multiplayer deal on Feb. 1, 1971, then joined the World Hockey Association in 1972. The Maple Leafs retained Parent's rights, but when the goalie wanted to return to the NHL, they traded him back to the Flyers on May 15, 1973. Parent would help lead Philadelphia to Stanley Cup championships in 1974 and 1975 and become one of the most popular Flyers of all time. His homecoming game couldn’t have been scripted any better, a 28-save 2-0 shutout of Toronto.

Toronto's Wendel Clark (l.) and Los Angeles' Luc Robitaille both returned twice to the teams where they began their NHL careers.

• Wendel Clark, Maple Leafs, March 15, 1996: This was the first of two Toronto returns for the popular wrecking ball known as "Captain Crunch." Clark began his career with the Maple Leafs in 1985-86, spent 1994-96 with the Quebec Nordiques and New York Islanders, then returned to Toronto. He'd be off again, to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Red Wings and Blackhawks, before his second Maple Leafs homecoming in 1999-2000. Clark's first return was memorable; he had the game-winning goal and an assist in a 3-0 win against the visiting Dallas Stars.

• Luc Robitaille, Kings, Oct. 12, 1997: Like Clark and Toronto, this was the first of Robitaille's two Los Angeles homecomings. Having played his first eight seasons with the Kings (1986-94), the slick forward moved on to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Rangers for three seasons before returning to the Kings in 1997, for four seasons. Two seasons in Detroit (2001-03) bridged his second return for his final two seasons (2003-06). In his first homecoming, Robitaille scored the game-winning goal and had an assist, and was plus-4, in a 7-4 win against the Ottawa Senators.

A New York Daily News report of Mark Messier's Oct. 11, 2000 return to the Rangers, the team he led to the 1994 Stanley Cup.

• Mark Messier, Rangers, Oct. 11, 2000: The inspirational captain of the Rangers' 1994 Stanley Cup championship team, the rugged, intimidating forward played with the Vancouver Canucks from 1997-2000. He returned to the Rangers in 2000 for his final four NHL seasons. Messier made the most of his Garden homecoming, scoring the game-winner in a 3-1 victory against the Canadiens.

Five other welcome-home games for returning players:

• Ron Hextall, Flyers, Jan. 21, 1995: 23 saves on 26 shots in a 3-1 loss to the Nordiques.

• Patrick Marleau, San Jose Sharks, Oct. 13, 2019: One assist and one shot on goal in a 3-1 win against the Calgary Flames.

• Teemu Selanne, Anaheim Ducks, Oct. 10, 2005: One goal and two penalty minutes in a 4-2 loss to the Oilers.

• Chris Osgood, Red Wings, Nov. 1, 2005: 23 saves on 24 shots in a 4-1 win against the Blackhawks.

• Roberto Luongo, Florida Panthers, March 7, 2014: a 25-save shutout in a 2-0 win against the Buffalo Sabres.

Top photo: Patrick Kane fist-bumps a young fan through the glass at Chicago's United Center on Feb. 21, 2023, his most recent game on home ice as a member of the Blackhawks.