from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,
Kane suggested he may want to play till he's 40. Teams aren't likely to give him more than two years in term since he turns 36 a month into next season. As regards money, before Yzerman can offer a new contract to any of his unrestricted free agents — a group that also includes David Perron and Shayne Gostisbehere — the GM needs to know how much he has to commit to restricted free agents Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider. Then there's weighing whether the Wings might be better off having money to spend in free agency, because both star forwards Sam Reinhart (28 years old and coming off a 57-goal season) and Steven Stamkos (34, with 1,137 points in 1,082 career games) project to be available July 1.
It will likely take around $8 million annually to attract Stamkos, and around $9.5 million annually to attract Reinhart. Kane maybe can be had for closer to the $5 million range. Other teams are likely to show interest — the Vegas Golden Knights, for one, if Jonathan Marchessault walks away in free agency. In Boston, the Bruins hung on to Jake DeBrusk at the trade deadline, but the $4 million forward is a pending UFA. In Chicago, Kane was greeted with a raucous welcome when he led the Wings into United Center back in February, and he would be a spectacular mentor for young Blackhawks star Connor Bedard.
Kane will mull his decision, but he does have some parameters that the Wings fulfill.
"Coming into this year, my decision was based on playing on a good team, a team where I thought I fit in well," he said. "The comfort of playing with Alex DeBrincat again is something I was looking forward to and really enjoyed. As the season goes on, you realize there’s a lot of good players here, there’s a lot of good players to play with. I was put in a great situation to succeed. I was really appreciative of that. I think it will be similar going forward, too — how will I fit in with the team, who would I play with, things like that.
"From being in Chicago for so long and then New York and then coming to Detroit, you’re looking for a little bit more stability as far as term. But the right situation matters, too."
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