And the winner of the Patrick Kane sweepstakes is: Detroit.

Kane, 35, reportedly agreed to a one-year, $2.75-million deal with the 11-6-3 Red Wings on Tuesday, after many others - including the Maple Leafs, Sabres, Stars, and Bruins - expressed interest in acquiring the unrestricted free agent. Kane appears ready to return to NHL action after spending six months recovering from hip surgery.

Here are four takeaways from the Wings' big splash.

Flexibility and familiarity wins

With at least a handful of teams lining up to speak with Kane, the forward essentially had his pick of the scenario he felt most comfortable with.

Most money? Most years? Best usage/deployment? Best chance to win?

Above all else, Detroit offered flexibility and familiarity.

Prior to the signing, the Wings had an open spot on their 23-man roster and roughly $5 million in cap space. This flexibility allowed general manager Steve Yzerman to add a player of Kane's caliber without subtracting from the group.

Now coach Derek Lalonde can insert a top-six winger into a lineup that's produced the third-most points in the Atlantic Division. Kane, meanwhile, joins a group hungry to snap a seven-year playoff drought.

The familiarity component is twofold: First, Kane knows the Michigan area well after suiting up for the U.S. National Team Development Program for two seasons in the mid-2000s. Second, Kane is reuniting with old linemate and buddy Alex DeBrincat. The pair skated on the same line for a large chunk of DeBrincat's five-year run in Chicago and were highly productive as a tandem. Kane assisted on 72 of 160 goals DeBrincat scored with the Blackhawks.

DeBrincat was traded to Detroit from Ottawa in July and immediately signed a four-year, $31.5-million extension. The sharpshooting winger leads the Wings with 12 goals in 20 games. He's played the majority of his five-on-five shifts with center Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond (though he did spend Sunday's 4-1 win over Minnesota alongside center J.T. Compher and Michael Rasmussen).

Lalonde will presumably prefer that Kane isn't matched up against the opposition's best defenders to start his tenure, so if DeBrincat and Kane indeed play together, Compher should be their center. He's capable of acting as the second line's defensive conscience, allowing Larkin to drive Detroit's attack on the top line with Raymond.

Bounce-back year not guaranteed

This is a low-risk move for the Wings because it's for one year, the cap hit is fine, and it didn't necessitate another transaction, as noted above.

On the other hand, there's some mystery here: This signing could end up a dud because Kane is coming off hip resurfacing surgery. None of the NHLers who previously underwent the same procedure - Nicklas Backstrom, Ryan Kesler, Ed Jovanovski - looked the same upon returning. Financially, there's little downside because Kane's deal can be transferred to long-term injury reserve if it doesn't work out.

Both things - low-risk move, dud possibility - can be true at the same time.

Kane, a three-time Stanley Cup champion, is one of the most decorated players in NHL history. He's a future first-ballot Hockey Hall of Famer with plenty of individual hardware, notably Conn Smythe and Hart Trophies. He's accumulated an incredible 1,237 points in 1,180 games.

He also turned 35 earlier in November and is coming off the least productive season of his career - 57 points in 73 games split between the Blackhawks and Rangers. Will Kane, fixed hip and all, return to his 2021-22 form of 92 points in 78 games? Or have his skills truly diminished over time?

Kane's always been an elite stickhandler and passer, and his vision is off the charts, but he's never been a particularly reliable defensive player. If he isn't putting up points, whether at even strength or on the power play, he isn't useful. Again, while the risk is low, this isn't a guaranteed home run.

Tantalizing best-case scenario

Kane's career earnings are north of $115 million. Money's always a factor, but it's not the only one this late in his career. Winning was clearly a priority.

I don't see the Wings as a Cup contender, but they certainly look like a playoff-caliber team through the season's first quarter. Maybe that's enough for Kane, who's seen a handful of lower seeds go on deep runs during his career. Or maybe he believes Detroit's being slept on as a contender - and that he can be Lalonde's missing piece.

The signing's best-case scenario is, in a word, tantalizing.

If Kane experiences no hip issues, if he hits it off with DeBrincat again, if the Wings keep progressing ... the fit could be tremendous.

Detroit may rank fourth in the NHL in goals per game right now, but the roster needed an upgrade at top-six wing, and Kane's playmaking style fills a specific void.

While the Wings rank ninth in the league on the power play, there's room for Kane on a top unit currently featuring Larkin, Compher, Raymond, David Perron, and Shayne Gostisbehere. Kane's all-world vision, passing ability, and years of experience should find a home on the right flank.

The Wings have an 8-13 record in overtime/shootout games over the past two seasons. Kane can help with that: He's masterful in OT and has the second-most shootout goals in the league since debuting in 2007-08.

Bonus: He's always been clutch in the playoffs.

Perhaps most crucially given his age, Kane can hide a little bit. Detroit's top three centers - Larkin, Compher, and Andrew Copp - are all capable of shouldering a heavier defensive load when Kane's on the wing. That means he can go out and create.

Another stage of the 'Yzerplan'

Yzerman, a Wings franchise icon and the GM since April 2019, took a slow and steady approach to the first few years of his tenure. He refused to rush any part of the rebuilding process.

Then, in the 2022 offseason, Yzerman added veterans, including Perron, Copp, and goalie Ville Husso. He took his foot off the gas ahead of the 2023 trade deadline - opting to sell instead of buy - before adding another group of vets this past offseason: DeBrincat, Compher, Gostisbehere, and others.

Pursuing and ultimately landing Kane was a natural next step. If you're a Wings fan, the best part is Yzerman still has a few million dollars left for midseason deals, assuming Detroit doesn't tumble down the standings over the next couple of months.

The first person I thought about when I heard Kane was off to Detroit was Larkin; the captain and Michigan native must be thrilled. The only time Larkin, a 2014 first-rounder, has appeared in the playoffs was 2015-16 - his rookie season and the final leg of Detroit's 25-year postseason streak.

There've been many lean years since, but now the Wings are off to a terrific start, and the short-term future projects to be much brighter if Kane's effective.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter/X (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

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Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin gave head coach Dean Evason a vote of confidence less than two weeks ago amid the team's underwhelming start to the campaign. Then Guerin fired him on Monday.

The executive explained his change of heart while introducing John Hynes as Minnesota's new bench boss on Tuesday.

"The coaches can't go out and execute for the players and play, but I just, I didn't feel like it was going to come back. ... I think it had just gotten to that point where - almost no matter what they did - the guys were having a hard time executing and generating offense," Guerin said. "Something had to change. 'You can't trade 23 players' is the old saying. I just had that feeling that it wasn't going to come back."

When asked to explain what "it" was, the GM elaborated.

"It's a little bit of everything. It's the confidence, it's the swagger, it's the ability to make plays," Guerin said. "The feeling that when you step out on the ice, you're going to accomplish something. ... There's just that it factor, and you feel it and you know it."

The Wild fired Evason and assistant coach Bob Woods after starting the campaign 5-10-4. Minnesota has one less victory than the rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks, the only team beneath the Wild in the Central Division. Heading into Tuesday's slate, Minnesota was seven points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Wild have made the playoffs in each of the last four campaigns.

Hynes' first game as head coach of the Wild is mere hours away, but he has prior experience stepping behind a team's bench midseason. He came in for the Predators in January 2020 and Nashville went 16-11-1 to close out the campaign under his direction. The Arizona Coyotes eliminated the Preds in the qualifying round of that year's expanded playoffs.

The veteran coach outlined his plan for the reeling Wild on Tuesday.

"I think you have to come in and, first and foremost, it's important to get to know the players," Hynes said. "It's on the fly, but I believe when you come into this situation, everybody's hurting. It's a tough situation. ...

"It's first 'who,' then 'what.' I think when it comes to the 'what' side, it's really just pinpointing simple things. You're not going to come in midseason and make wholesale changes, but I think you want to work on identity, you want to work on the mindset of the team. You come in and make some slight tweaks."

With that strategy, Guerin believes the Wild will be able to right the ship with Hynes at the helm.

"The slate's clean for the guys. It's a new day, it's a new voice, they're going to get a new message. ... I know these players really well, their buy-in level is really high," Guerin said. "If they can make this team better or be better, they'll do it. ... I think they'll listen to John right away."

Rookie defenseman Brock Faber seems ready to hear that message.

"We have a playoff hockey team in here," he said, per The Athletic's Michael Russo. "This is a wake-up call for all of us."

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The Detroit Red Wings have won the Patrick Kane sweepstakes.

The coveted free-agent winger has decided to sign with Detroit after recovering from offseason hip resurfacing surgery, reports TSN's Chris Johnston.

The move reunites Kane with former Chicago Blackhawks teammate Alex DeBrincat.

More to come.

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The officials didn't discriminate after a line brawl erupted in the third period of the Florida Panthers' 5-0 win over the Ottawa Senators on Monday night.

Tempers flared earlier in the game, but things reached a boiling point when Senators captain Brady Tkachuk bumped into Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky following a scoring chance in the latter half of the final stanza.

Florida defenseman Dmitry Kulikov then went after Tkachuk, and a full-out melee ensued.

Here's another look at referee Garrett Rank's all-encompassing penalty call:

Panthers head coach Paul Maurice had to do a head count to determine how many players he had left on the bench.

Brady and Matthew Tkachuk's grandmother, Geraldine, didn't seem too thrilled with how things unfolded with two of her grandsons involved.

When the dust settled, the officials handed the Senators 54 minutes of penalties over the brouhaha (including a minor to Brady for the original contact with Bobrovsky), while the Panthers received 52. Ottawa racked up 84 penalty minutes in the game compared to Florida's 83.

Maurice had a quip ready when asked about all of those minutes postgame.

"That's mild," he said, according to The Associated Press' Tim Reynolds. "We only got to 160-some minutes. It's got to get into the 250s before it gets too squirrelly."

Earlier in the game, Senators forward Zack MacEwen got a match penalty for hitting Matthew in the head in retaliation for the Panthers forward's check on Ottawa blue-liner Travis Hamonic. Matthew was then caught on a hot mic saying, "F-----g Timmy (Stutzle) and (Jake) Sanderson are dead," before fighting the latter minutes later.

The Senators and Panthers won't meet again until Feb. 20 in Sunrise, Florida. They'll also meet in Ottawa on April 4 before battling in Florida again on April 9.

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The NHL is turning back the clock by resurrecting the player draft it used during several past All-Star Weekends.

The league announced Monday it's expanding this season's festivities in Toronto to three days. The player draft will take place Thursday, Feb. 1, followed by the skills competition the next day, and then the three-on-three tournament on Saturday.

In terms of the player draft, the four All-Star captains (one from each division) will fill out their teams from the remaining pool of players after the conclusion of fan voting. The event will be televised, and each captain will be paired with a celebrity.

The NHL held an All-Star player draft in 2011, 2012, and 2015. The most memorable moment came in the inaugural edition, when then-Toronto Maple Leafs winger Phil Kessel was passed over until the final pick.

This year's All-Star Weekend will also include a PWHL showcase on Thursday.

Toronto will host the midseason event for the first time since 2000.

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