Kane reflects on 'special, special moment' in passing Modano

DETROIT -- The puck flew into the net. Someone tossed an octopus, a symbol of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Detroit. The Detroit Red Wings bench emptied as “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd blared from the loudspeakers.

Patrick Kane had done it. With the secondary assist on a goal by defenseman Ben Chiarot at 9:52 of the second period against the Washington Capitals at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday, the 37-year-old forward reached 1,375 points and passed Mike Modano for the NHL record among players born in the United States.

The spotlight shining upon him, the fans cheering for him, Kane skated to center ice and raised his stick. You didn’t need the huge, high definition scoreboard screens to see the smile on his face. He thought he’d broken the record with an assist on a goal by forward Alex DeBrincat two minutes into the game, but he was offside. This time, it counted.

“I mean, special, special moment, right?” Kane, who also scored in the shootout in a 4-3 loss, said. “Obviously, pretty crazy the way you think you have it and then it comes back for offside.”

Asked if it had sunk in yet, Kane said: “Not really. I mean, you know, I think it’s nice to have it over with in some ways, just kind of worry about the rest of the season and what we can accomplish as a team and hopefully go do something special as a group.”

Modano, now a Minnesota Wild hockey operations advisor, watched Kane break the record live on TV at home. The Red Wings played a video of Modano congratulating Kane soon afterward.

“I knew at an early age in your career, you’d be the one chasing this number down, and here we are today,” Modano told Kane. “… Continue on and make this number harder for the next guy.”

Modano told NHL.com in a phone interview that he wasn’t sure how he’d feel in the moment, but “it’s been a lot of fun to see this come together.”

He brought his kids to meet Kane after Detroit’s 4-3 overtime loss at Minnesota on Jan. 22. In a social media post afterward, Modano wrote, “he had to finally introduce them to the greatest American player and one of the best ever to play.”

Told that was high praise coming from him, Modano listed Kane’s accomplishments, which include three Stanley Cup wins and the Calder (rookie of the year), Hart (most valuable player), Art Ross (scoring champion) and Conn Smythe (playoff MVP) trophies. He talked about how Kane was headed to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

“His resume speaks for itself,” Modano said. “Start to finish.”

To put Kane’s latest feat in perspective, consider that this is the 108th season that has been played since the NHL’s founding in 1917. According to NHL Stats, 1,479 players born in the U.S. have appeared in a regular-season game -- 1,350 skaters and 125 goalies, plus four who played both positions in the early days.

“I think the achievement speaks for itself,” Detroit captain Dylan Larkin said. “He has the most points as a U.S.-born player. He's the greatest U.S.-born player to play the game. Incredible for him and his family, and really special to just be able to witness that live.”

Modano held the record for more than 18 years, longer than each of the previous four record holders. He passed Phil Housley when he reached 1,233 points with two goals for the Dallas Stars in a 3-1 win at the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 7, 2007.

Kane, selected No. 1 in the 2007 NHL Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, was about a month into his NHL career then.

“Obviously, he’s (Modano) one of the best American players of all time, a guy I looked up to a lot when I was younger,” Kane said. “I remember the moment when he passed Phil Housley in San Jose on a breakaway goal. To see him up there [on the scoreboard screens], as a former Red Wing too, sending a message like that was pretty classy.”

Modano spent his final season in his hometown of Detroit in 2010-11. His 1,374th and final point, a goal in a 10-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues on March 30, 2011, came in a Red Wings uniform at Joe Louis Arena, which stood two miles from where Little Caesars Arena stands today.

Kane tied Modano with an assist in a 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday, reaching 1,374 points in 1,341 games, 158 fewer than Modano did. After Kane passed Modano on Thursday, the Red Wings celebrated with a team picture in the locker room despite the loss.

“It’s still special to be a part of history, whether we win or lose,” DeBrincat said. “It’s a special moment for him and all of us.”

The question now is where Kane will finish among U.S.-born players in all the major categories.

Kane, who signed a one-year, $3 million contract with Detroit on June 30, has said he hopes to play 1,500 games. He has 875 assists, 19 behind Housley’s record of 894. He has 500 goals, sixth behind Joe Mullen (502), Jeremy Roenick (513), Keith Tkachuk (538) and Modano (561).

“Still feel like there’s more in the tank and more that I can give to the team, and hoping that I can really find it down the stretch here as the time becomes really important,” Kane said. “That’s kind of my thought right now. We’ll see with everything else after that.”

How many more numbers could Kane pile up?

“I think a lot,” DeBrincat said, laughing. “I think he’s still got it. He’s still one of the smartest players I’ve ever played with, and obviously the skill’s there, so I think as long as he wants to go, he’s going to be able to go and be a difference-maker in the League for a while.”