NHL

Patrick Kane said that there is mutual interest between him and the Detroit Red Wings ahead of NHL free agency, per Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.

The 36-year-old Kane posted 21 goals and 38 assists for 59 points in 2024-25, his second season with Detroit.

Last offseason, Kane signed a one-year, $4 million contract extension to remain in Detroit. He had previously inked a one-year, $2.75 million deal with Detroit in November 2023 after recovering from hip resurfacing surgery in June of that year.

The three-time Stanley Cup winner and nine-time All-Star has played 18 NHL seasons, mostly with the Chicago Blackhawks. He spent 15-plus years in the Windy City before being traded to the New York Rangers during the 2022-23 campaign. He's now spent two years with Detroit, with the possibility of more time on the Red Wings.

For his career, Kane has posted 1,343 points (492 goals, 851 assists) while adding 53 goals and 85 assists for 138 playoff points.

Given his production since coming back from injury, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Kane and Detroit reach a deal here, although it's also possible another team makes a good offer, given his 2024-25 success.

The Anaheim Ducks announced Saturday that head coach Greg Cronin has been fired after two seasons leading the team.

"I want to personally thank Greg for his tireless work and dedication to the team," general manager Pat Verbeek said in a statement. "He is responsible in many ways for the improvement we've seen from our young core. However, after several weeks of careful evaluation, I concluded we needed a change in direction and a new voice. This was an extremely difficult decision for me to make, but I felt it was necessary to continue our progress toward becoming a Stanley Cup contender that I know we can be."

Cronin, who was the first head coach to be fired since the conclusion of the regular season this past week, went just 62-87-15 in his two seasons for the rebuilding Ducks, missing the postseason in both campaigns. Anaheim last qualified for the playoffs in the 2017-18 season.

He previously served as the head coach of the AHL's Colorado Eagles (2018-23) and Bridgeport Sound Tigers (2002-05) alongside being an assistant coach in the NHL for the New York Islanders (2014-17) and Toronto Maple Leafs (2011-14).

The Ducks do have an exciting young core to build around, led by 22-year-old center Mason McTavish (22 goals, 30 assists in 2024-25), 20-year-old center Leo Carlsson (20 goals, 25 assists) and 21-year-old winger Cutter Gauthier (20 goals, 24 assists), alongside 21-year-old defensemen Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger. They also have the eighth-best odds to win the NHL lottery and likely will hold a top-10 pick to add even more talent to the mix.

So the future appears to be bright for the young Ducks, though it remains to be seen who they will name to lead them into this next chapter.

"As much as it's disappointing tonight, I think from the big picture we took a step in the right direction," team captain Radko Gudas told reporters on April 3 after the team was officially eliminated from playoff contention. "You can see the guys here that are young and wanted to get better, they want to get better every game we play. I thought for us, obviously not a successful year because of (missing) the playoffs, but I think it was a step in the right direction for the organization and the future is going to be bright if we can keep this group together."