Could Patrick Kane come back to the Blackhawks one day? Why not?

Could Patrick Kane return to play for the Blackhawks one day?

Absolutely.

It's something I've thought about since it became clear Kane would be traded last season. And it's a subject Kane - who signed a one-year deal with Detroit on Tuesday - addressed Thursday before the Hawks squared off against the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena.

"There's always a piece in the back of your mind that maybe (going back) could potentially happen," Kane told reporters. "You never know. I love the city, loved my time there with the organization."

My thinking is Kane could play 2-3 seasons with another organization then rejoin the Hawks for one more before retiring.

So after chasing a Stanley Cup in Detroit and/or elsewhere, he would return to Chicago when the Hawks should be ready to explode.

It's a dream scenario for Hawks fans, but it also may not be very realistic. The hip resurfacing surgery Kane underwent is tricky, and it often shortens or ends careers.

Three years is a long way away.

The other interesting tidbit that came out of Kane's interview is that he was half-expecting the Hawks to reach out to him or Jonathan Toews after they won the draft lottery.

After all, who better to mentor a kid like Connor Bedard?

It didn't happen, however, and Kane holds no ill will.

"When I was a young guy, it really helped having some older guys around like Robert Lang, Martin Havlat, Yanic Perreault and Patrick Lalime," Kane said. "That made it pretty easy on me, too. It seemed like they wanted to go in a direction where they were going to bring in some different type of veterans.

"(It is) what it is."

Kane did not face the Blackhawks on Thursday. He is expected to make his Red Wings debut next week, possibly against his hometown Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.

Home sweet home:

It's been a strange couple of years for Alex DeBrincat.

Shortly after tying his career high in goals with 41 with the Blackhawks in 2021-22, he was traded to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for three draft picks.

DeBrincat spent one season in Ottawa, was shipped to Detroit in the off-season and then signed a four-year, $31.5 million deal.

The whirlwind has landed him not far from where he grew up. Now he's playing for the team his family has cheered for most of their lives.

"It's awesome playing here," DeBrincat said. "The opportunity to play for your hometown team and the team you grew up rooting for is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Not many guys get the opportunity to do it.

"It's been very cool to have my parents at every game and get back to their roots of rooting for the team they rooted for when they were young."

DeBrincat notched his ninth assist of the season during the Red Wings' 5-1 victory over the visiting Hawks on Thursday. Ben Chariot scored at 5:09 of the second period after DeBrincat's stuff attempt was saved by Petr Mrazek. It gave Detroit a 3-1 lead.

The Red Wings made it 4-1 just 47 seconds later when J.T. Compher scored on the power play.

Lukas Reichel scored the Hawks' only goal at 3:20 of the first period on the power play.

The Hawks fell to 7-14-0 while Detroit improved to 12-7-3.