Patrick Kane hoping for 1 more chance at elusive gold with U.S. at 2026 Olympics

PLYMOUTH, Mich. -- Patrick Kane might be the greatest American hockey player of all time. His long list of accomplishments includes three Stanley Cup championships and an Olympic silver medal.

“The one thing that’s kind of missing is a gold in best-on-best, right?” Kane said at the United States Men’s Olympic Orientation Camp on Tuesday. “It would be fun to have that opportunity.”

Obviously, the 36-year-old forward badly wants to make the United States roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. But he doesn’t want to make it for who he has been. He wants to make it for who he still is.

“I don’t want that to be a thing, either, where you’re getting selected for the team because of all that stuff,” Kane said. “You want to be selected for the player you are and what you can bring to the team.”

Kane has represented the United States in three best-on-best tournaments: the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, where he won silver, plus the 2014 Olympics in Sochi and the World Cup of Hockey 2016 in Toronto.

But last season he didn’t make the United States roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off, the first best-on-best tournament since the 2016 World Cup. He watched on television in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, as the United States lost to Canada 3-2 in the championship game at TD Garden in Boston on Feb. 20.

Kane had 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 20 games for the Detroit Red Wings when the United States roster was announced Dec. 4. U.S. general manager Bill Guerin, also GM of the Minnesota Wild, traveled to Detroit to tell him in person after a game. Coach Mike Sullivan, then coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins, pulled him aside after Detroit hosted Pittsburgh on Dec. 31.

“It kind of rubs it in even more, right?” Kane said, smiling. “You’re having a conversation. But after, you appreciate the gesture and understand where they’re coming from. It’s good to talk to them and have the conversation.

“I didn’t really expect to make it just the way I was playing, with how many good American players there are. Definitely don’t want that to happen again where I’m in a situation where I’m not playing that great and you get left off because of that, right?

“If you’re playing well and somebody else is playing well, and they take somebody else, well, you know, so be it. I put my best foot forward and I did all I could to try to make the team. I was happy that I finished well last year and kind of got myself back into maybe the conversation again, but we’ll see.”

Kane thrived after Detroit replaced coach Derek Lalonde with Todd McLellan on Dec. 26, producing 45 points (16 goals, 29 assists) in his last 43 games. The Red Wings played a more aggressive style, and the power play heated up, playing to his strengths.

In the offseason, he was able to train more athletically instead of rehabbing the hip he had surgically repaired June 1, 2023. He should be in a good situation under McLellan from the beginning this season.

“There’s really no excuse for me not to have a good start,” he said.

Kane is eight goals from 500 in the NHL and 32 points from passing Mike Modano for the most in the NHL among players born in the United States. He commands respect at this orientation camp, especially from young players who grew up idolizing him.

“We all wanted to be Patrick Kane,” said center Dylan Larkin, now a Detroit teammate.

Utah Mammoth forward Clayton Keller called Kane “the GOAT.” Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor and Florida Panthers defenseman Seth Jones each used the word “aura.”

Kane enjoys being a mentor and loves talking hockey.

“I’m kind of at the point in my career where it’s fun to come to these events and talk to younger guys and learn from younger players,” Kane said. “This morning, we’re on the ice with 30 of the best players in the world. It’s cool to be out there with them and kind of see what guys are doing and how they’re training, talk to them about certain things.”

The thing is, Kane is still one of the best players in the world.

“They call him Showtime for a reason,” Connor said. “He shows up for the biggest games and seems to elevate. That’s what you want from a go-to player. He seems to step up in those moments. He still does it, even after injuries and Father Time, being a little bit older.”

Jones said Kane is still one of the top one or two players teams identify before playing Detroit.

“To me, he’s the same guy I grew up watching, to be honest,” Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews said. “I mean, you watch him play, the way that he controls the game, just the way he can see the ice. He makes plays. Not too many people can play the game like him and be successful. I think it just speaks volumes to his dedication that at his age right now he’s still a point-a-game guy. He’s still a leader and still gets it done. To me, he’s still one of my favorite players to watch.”

Kane brings a perspective no other current player can. He pointed out he had been to orientation camps in 2010 and 2014. The message was the same then as it is now: It’s time. The United States hasn’t won Olympic gold since 1980 in Lake Placid or a best-on-best tournament since the 1996 World Cup.

He wants to play a meaningful role in putting his country back on top.

“Yeah, that’s all it is, is gold, and trying to get over the hump of Canada,” Kane said. “They’ve won the last two Olympics in best-on-best and the last two World Cups in best-on-best. Yeah, that’s what it’s all about, to win the gold.”

NHL.com Editor-in-Chief Bill Price and senior director of editorial Shawn P. Roarke contributed to this report