Patrick Kane looking to be part of solution to Red Wings playoff drought

"I love playing with Alex, and we have a great friendship and a great relationship," Kane said. "I'd love to keep playing with him."

Kane and the Wings have reached agreement on one-year contracts, loaded with bonuses or incentives, the last two years. It wouldn't be surprising to see something similar reached nearer July 1 this time around.

"I don't think anyone's in a rush to make any decisions or anything like that," Kane said. "We’ll see how everything plays out."

If there was any doubt whether Kane could still be a central figure on a team, those concerns were erased late in the season.

When the calendar flipped to March, and the Wings' most crucial games popped up, Kane was at his best. Kane had 24 points (seven goals, 17 assists) in his last 20 games, and the line of Kane, DeBrincat and Andrew Copp was the Wings' most consistent and productive.

"I still think I have the ability to elevate when it's the most important time," Kane said. "I've always been able to do that throughout my career, and I still think that's something that lives within me. I don't want to blame everything on the injuries in the beginning of the year, but I could have had a better year overall. Just looking at everything, I can be better next year, I can bring another level of production."

Kane was fifth on the Wings' scoring list with 57 points (16 goals, 41 assists) in 67 games. He reached several career milestones including scoring his 500th NHL goal on Jan. 8 and breaking Mike Modano's (Westland) record for points by a United States-born player (1,375). Kane ended the season with exactly 1,400 career points.

Coach Todd McLellan praised Kane's consistency the final weeks of the regular season, and doesn't see Kane's enthusiasm for the game waning.

"His passion for the game is evident every day he comes to the rink," McLellan said. “He's never down. He just wants to play hockey. You can see it in his practice habits. With that many games, miles, surgeries and stuff like that, sometimes you want to cut him a little slack, but he doesn't cut himself slack.

"He's an easy guy to coach. His professionalism is through the roof."

Kane appeared genuinely stunned he was doing a season-ending interview, rather than preparing for the first round of the NHL playoffs. Kane felt the Wings had a talented enough roster to get into the playoffs and potentially be a difficult opponent.

Kane mentioned several times during the season he felt the Wings' chemistry and lineup mix of veterans and young players had a successful feel.

"We have a good team here, and we can win," Kane said. "This team is better than some teams that are in the playoffs.

"I thought we would still be playing now. Everyone in the locker room is somewhat embarrassed right now, because we know there were some games we just gave away. We all need to look in the mirror and figure out how to be more competitive next year.”

tkulfan@detroitnews.com

@tkulfan

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Patrick Kane looking to help get Detroit Red Wings back to playoffs