Detroit Red Wings zeroing in on deal with Patrick Kane ahead of free agency

The Detroit Red Wings' hockey operations department returned home from the draft and immediately put in another hard day's work.

General manager Steve Yzerman's priority before free agency begins at noon Monday is to get Patrick Kane re-signed, and the sides continued to talk Sunday evening. The 35-year-old is viewed as a crucial piece in the chase for continued improvement, because the Wings haven't had a game-changer of Kane's level since Pavel Datsyuk roamed the ice. Re-signing him is a safer bet than seeing him walk in free agency and trying to find another player even close to his caliber.

Kane had 47 points in 50 games last season, and was a leader in the locker room, too.

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There's more uncertainty than the Wings would like, but so it goes this time of year.

Yzerman also has to sort out his defense. Does he manage to bring back Shayne Gostisbehere? He made a world of difference on the power play, and added offense from the back end. If that happens, who goes? Olli Määttä is highly tradable – 29 years old, one year left at $3 million – but he was also the defenseman who partnered best with Gostisbehere.

Yzerman said over the weekend at the draft in Las Vegas that he "can't bring everyone back." So the priority is Kane, then Gostisbehere, and then see how much money is left. The Wings have roughly $32 million in salary cap space, but half of that is earmarked for contracts for restricted free agents Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond.

It's shaping up to be an interesting start to free agency across the NHL, as Steven Stamkos is set to hit the market for the first time after a long career with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bolts, meanwhile, upset the market by acquiring the rights to Jake Guentzel, so that's one potential unrestricted free agent snapped up early. The expectation certainly is that the Florida Panthers will re-sign Sam Reinhart before the market opens, but until it's done, he's a potential UFA, too.

If the Kane situation can get settled, it at least gives the Wings a little breathing room going into free agency. They still need some depth players up front, and a third-string goaltender.

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings zeroing in on deal with free agent Patrick Kane