For The First Time, it’s Kane vs Toews as Red Wings Face Jets

For 15 seasons in Chicago, Patrick Kane of the Detroit Red Wings and Jonathan Toews of the Winnipeg Jets were the NHL’s most dynamic duo.

Toews was the captain and spiritual leader, while Kane was an offensive force as the Blackhawks won Stanley Cups in 2009-10, 2012-13, and 2014-15.

On New Year’s Eve at Little Caesars Arena, for the first time in an NHL game, Kane and Toews will line up as opponents.

Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane were Chicago teammates for more than a decade. Now they face each other in an NHL game for the first time in their careers. https://t.co/MXD4HKCdL5

— Tracey Myers (@Tramyers_NHL) December 30, 2025

“It’ll be fun to play him for the first time ever in the NHL,” Kane said. “Obviously, we played against each other in international competitions – Olympics, World Cup, World Championships – but this would be totally different.

“Facing off for the first time in the NHL.”

What they achieved as teammates will forever be woven into the fabric of NHL lore.

“Just the memories we have together will last a lifetime, right?” Kane said. “Coming in together, being roommates right away, rookies right away. Kind of going through everything with that. We had the same agent, so we were doing a lot of things together.

“And then, obviously, when the team started to get better, and we started to make some runs, just kind of feeding off each other, having that internal competition.

“That’s one thing I’ll always appreciate about Johnny is the internal competition. The willingness to push each other.”

Red Wings Coach Sees Two Future Hall of Famers

They’ll be pushing against each other for the first time on Wednesday. And Red Wings coach Todd McLellan is anticipating that while the spotlight may focus on them, for Kane and Toews, the only focus will be acquiring the two points up for grabs.

“Having been around Johnny a little bit at All-Star Games and knowing him a bit, and certainly with Patrick, it’s always team first,” McLellan said. “That’s probably why they ended up winning. It wasn’t about individual stuff.

“They’re both going to a place in Toronto (the Hockey Hall of Fame) as soon as they’re done. I think that alone tells you how special they’ve been. So it’s an honor to be in the league with them. A real honor to at least coach one of them.”

Time flies when you're having fun 🤩

Congrats on 1,100 career NHL games, Jonathan Toews! pic.twitter.com/Iwsm7ASeZ0

— NHL (@NHL) December 18, 2025

Both Kane (hip surgery) and Toews (chronic inflammatory response syndrome and long COVID) saw their playing careers brought to a halt and placed in jeopardy through ailments. Kane missed a half-season, while Toews was idled for two full years.

Perhaps Kane summed up best what it means to see both of them back in the NHL together again.

” I think it’s great for the league that he’s back,” Kane said. “It’s a better league when he’s in the game.”