Kane cementing legacy as American great on verge of breaking Modano record

Patrick Kane had not played in the NHL when he was invited to a media event at the Empire Hotel in New York before the 2007-08 season. There he was at 18 years old, posing for pictures with Mike Modano, Phil Housley and Joe Mullen. In one of them, each wore a Team USA jersey.

Modano, one of Kane’s favorite players growing up, was about to pass Housley for the most points in NHL history by a player born in the United States, as Housley had once passed Mullen. The thought was that Kane, selected No. 1 by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2007 NHL Draft, might pass Modano someday.

“Obviously, I’m a high draft pick, but I haven’t really accomplished anything yet,” Kane said. “I was starstruck meeting those guys, especially Modano, right? They were so nice, so gracious. I felt so comfortable around them by the end of the trip. It was great.”

He laughed.

“But at the same time,” he said, “you’re thinking, like, ‘There’s something that’s not right about this picture, right? I shouldn’t be here with these guys.’”

Modano and Mullen hadn’t met Kane before.

“I hadn’t heard much about ‘Patty’ at the time, so I didn’t know really much about him,” Modano said. “But I just remember that picture with him being in it, being so young, and all of us old codgers.”

Housley knew Kane well, however. He had been an assistant for the United States at the 2007 IIHF World Junior Championship, when Kane tied for the tournament lead with five goals and helped the U.S. win bronze.

“It was like, ‘Oh, they picked Patrick Kane,’” Housley said with a chuckle. “‘Really good choice.’”

Now 37 and playing for the Detroit Red Wings, Kane needs four points to pass Modano. The forward has 1,371 points (500 goals, 871 assists) in 1,334 games as he visits the Boston Bruins on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, TNT, NESN).

The temptation is to say Kane is about to fulfill his destiny. But early in his career, he had to overcome a lack of size, and late in his career, he had to overcome a hip problem. He needed heart as well as talent, first to generate the hype, then to live up to it.

“I knew years ago that he may be the one, that if he stayed healthy that he would be the guy that goes after it,” Modano said. “So, obviously, he’s had a phenomenal career and is one of the best ever.”

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Kane grew up going to Buffalo Sabres games, sitting behind the net during warmup and behind the bench after puck drop, studying all the stars as they came through town.

To this day, he remembers details of Modano’s stick -- skinny blade, black tape. Not that he had anything against grinders, but he admired how Modano did not fit the stereotype of the American player.

“He had a different type of flair, the skating with speed, the jersey flapping in the back,” Kane said. “It was different watching him play compared to the rest of American players, you know? He just had the swag. He made the game exciting, fun to watch, especially for me. Skilled, offensive player. I liked watching a guy like that, learning from him.”

Kane became a skilled, offensive player himself. In 2003-04, he lived with former NHL forward Pat Verbeek in the Detroit suburbs and put up 160 points (83 goals, 77 assists) in 70 games for Honeybaked 16U AAA. But at that point, realistically, he didn’t think he would be like Modano.

“I was a smaller kid,” Kane said. “Like, I was a good hockey player, but I mean, you never really know where it’s going to take you. You hope you get a college scholarship and you can pay for your college by playing hockey, and that was kind of the goal.”

To start 2004-05, Kane was not part of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, then based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was only 15 to start the season, born Nov. 19, 1988, late for his age group.

John Hynes, then coach of the U17 team, now coach of the Minnesota Wild, said the worry was that Kane was too small to play against older opponents in the North American Hockey League and United States Hockey League. The plan was maybe to invite him to international tournaments when he could play against opponents closer to his age.

But a spot opened early in the season when defenseman Bob Sanguinetti left the NTDP for Owen Sound of the Ontario Hockey League, and Kane got the call.

Ron Rolston, then coach of the U18 team, now an associate at Providence College, remembers when Kane arrived with his hockey bag slung over his shoulder.

“It didn’t look like he was a guy that was supposed to be on the team, because he just looked small,” Rolston said. “Put up all kinds of numbers, and they passed him by. It was an act of God that he got there, basically. For the program. Not for himself, but for the program.”

Kane put up all kinds of numbers in two seasons at the NTDP, everywhere but on the scale. He had 172 points (84 goals, 88 assists) in 121 games, even though the 2004-05 media guide listed him at 5-foot-9, 150 pounds, generously.

“I remember when I was going to the program, I would stick, like, two-and-a-half-pound plates into my pockets when I would go on the scale so I could weigh in at, like, 147,” Kane said. “So, I’m, like, obviously 142, because I’ve got two 2 ½-pound plates, but I’m weighing in at 147. They’re like, ‘Wow. Good job. You’re getting up there.’”

He laughed.

“But it was really great for me,” he said. “The program was awesome. …Obviously, it was nice that they had a spot open. You never know what would have happened if that spot hadn’t opened.”

Kane proved he could excel at his size.

“You could see his poise, his confidence and his mind, and he was always an intense competitor,” Hynes said. “He had a fire to him.”

By 2006-07, Kane believed he could become a professional hockey player, but he was still only 17 to start the season. He had nine points (five goals, four assists) in seven games for the United States at world juniors and 145 points (62 goals, 83 assists) in 58 games for London of the OHL, leading the league in scoring.

“He had unbelievable hands and could slip passes through sticks and feet,” said Rolston, the U.S. coach at world juniors in 2007. “He could make plays in very small areas and also create space with his edges and his smarts. He was deadly that way, and he could make plays and score, as he’s done his whole career.”

Kane, listed at 5-10, 178, was selected No. 1 in the NHL Draft by the Blackhawks, like Modano was by the Minnesota North Stars in 1988.

“It was fun to see him develop,” Housley said. “Even from that time and going into the NHL, he took the right path, and you knew it was just a matter of time before everything was going to come together and he was going to be a superstar.”

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Mullen broke the NHL points record for players born in the United States by scoring twice for the Calgary Flames in a 6-5 loss at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 13, 1990. He had 686 points at the time, passing Reed Larson’s 685, and finished his NHL career with 1,063 in 1996-97.

Housley reached 1,064 points with the first of three assists for the Flames in a 5-4 overtime win at the Washington Capitals on March 13, 1999. He finished with 1,232 points in 2002-03.

Modano reached 1,233 points by scoring twice for the Dallas Stars in a 3-1 win at the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 7, 2007. He finished with 1,374 points.

“I was glad to see him break the record,” Housley said. “There’s a guy that certainly deserves it, and I’m sure Mike Modano will say the same thing about Patrick Kane. I mean, what a great career he’s built for himself with winning championships and all the other awards. When it was showtime, he lit it up, and he’s just an extraordinary talent.”

Nicknamed “Showtime,” Kane had 1,225 points (446 goals, 779 assists) in 1,161 games for the Blackhawks from 2007-23. He won the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015, plus the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2007-08, Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2012-13, and Art Ross Trophy as NHL scoring champion and Hart Trophy as League MVP in 2015-16.

He also helped the United States win silver at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

When the NHL celebrated its Centennial in 2017, he was named one of the 100 Greatest Players of the League’s first century.

“You could tell he was going to produce a lot of points, you know?” Mullen said. “And he did. I mean, he did it. He did it in a great way too, the way he can play hockey, amazing people in the stands just by his talent.”

After posting 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 19 games with the New York Rangers at the end of 2022-23, Kane had hip resurfacing surgery June 1, 2023. Few NHL players had undergone the procedure. None had sustained success afterward.

But Kane has had 134 points (49 goals, 85 assists) in 154 games with Detroit since. Listed at 5-10, 176, he hit 500 goals when he scored twice in a 5-1 win against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday. In a speech in the locker room, he looked back on when he wasn’t sure he would play again.

Now he’s about to pass Modano in points, joining Modano, Housley and Mullen in history the way he joined them at that media event in New York. Eventually, he’ll join them in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, too.

“I never really thought about any American scoring records or being a top American player of all-time, right?” Kane said. “You’re just playing.”

Kane hopes to play 1,500 games in the NHL. Who knows where he’ll end up in points or where he’ll finish in other categories? Among players born in the United States, he’s second in assists, 23 behind Housley. He’s fifth in goals, two behind Mullen, 13 behind Jeremy Roenick, 38 behind Keith Tkachuk and 61 behind Modano.

“I think he’ll be the most recognized [American player] for a long, long time,” Modano said. “I mean, with the Stanley Cups and the personal awards and the numbers and the longevity and everything else, I think he will go down as one of the best, obviously.

“You can debate players from different generations. But, bottom line, he’s played a long time. He’s put up some great numbers. Those Blackhawk runs were phenomenal, those playoff years that they had. They had quite an amazing team. Obviously, well deserving for whatever era he played in.”

Mullen said Kane “should be right at the top” among players born in the United States.

To Housley, there is no debate.

“There have been a lot of great players, believe me,” Housley said. “But to see what he’s done and overcome too with injuries later in his career, he takes care of himself. He trains hard. Even at this stage in his career, he’s still an asset for Detroit. He can still play at a high level.

“But I think you’d have to think that he definitely is the top player. This is my opinion, but he’s the top player in American history.”

NHL.com staff writer Derek Van Diest contributed to this report