Patrick Kane loves the welcome Red Wings fans have given him

There was once a time when fans of the Detroit Red Wings never would have imagined such a bitter rival like Chris Chelios suiting up for their franchise, but that became a reality; the Hall of Famer would go on to play several years with Detroit and became a fan favorite. 

The situation has repeated itself, as former fierce rival Patrick Kane, who won three Stanley Cup championships with the Blackhawks that included a seven-game playoff victory over Detroit in 2013, is now wearing the Winged Wheel. 

Now that he's on the right side of what was once a fierce rivalry, Kane had nothing but good things to say about his time so far playing in the Motor City. And as he puts it, he's felt nothing but love from Red Wings fans. 

"I little bit, you never know how you're going to be perceived or if the fans are going to like or hate you, right?" he said following practice today at Little Caesars Arena to Brad Galli of local Detroit station WXYZ. "I feel welcomed with open arms, I feel the love from fans here and I'm definitely appreciative."

"Chicago and Detroit was such a great rivalry for a long time and it's kind of cool to be on the other side now, and building something here with this group. Some of my favorite players growing up were Red Wings when you think of (Henrik) Zetterberg and (Pavel) Datsyuk and guys like that. I'm definitely happy to be here and I enjoy what we having going on." 

During his time with the Blackhawks, Kane became known for his exuberant goal celebrations that helped fire up the fans almost as much as the actual goal scoring did. Other NHL players haven't been shy about voicing their admiration of the goal celly, something that hasn't gone unnoticed on Kane's part. 

"I think it's cool, you hear about certain guys who are some of the best players in the League right now that enjoy how you played when you were younger, I guess you never really think about that when you're playing," Kane said. "For me, I think it was important to play my game and enjoy entertaining a little bit and playing for the fans while playing in the team structure. Playing with an edge and enjoying when you score too, right? It's cool to see.....I think it's good to show emotion when you score, it's a pretty exciting feeling." 

The Red Wings currently find themselves in a postseason spot, occupying the last Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference and only one point back of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the 1st Wild Card with a pair of games in hand. Kane joined the Red Wings midway through this season, and hopes that it's just the latest in the rebuilding process that lands them back in the postseason for the 1st time since 2016.

"It's been good," Kane said. "A lot of the guys in the room have done a lot of work to get to this point, whether it's been this year or in years past to build what they have here. I feel like you try to come in and fit in and do your job on the ice and play well, and just kind of speak about difference experiences if guys have questions or want to lean on you...it's been a good fit." 

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