3-time Cup champion Patrick Kane joins Red Wings in return from hip surgery

Patrick Kane is joining the Detroit Red Wings for the rest of the season, choosing the championship-rich franchise over other suitors for the four-time all-star's return to the NHL from hip surgery.

He signed a contract Tuesday worth a prorated $2.75 million US, meaning he'll make just over $2 million through mid-April.

Kane, who turned 35 on Nov. 19, was an unrestricted free agent rehabbing from hip resurfacing surgery in June. He has been skating since August and told The Associated Press in September that he was starting to feel like his old self again.

The three-time Stanley Cup champion with Chicago and 2016 league MVP chose Detroit over a handful of other interested teams, including his hometown Buffalo Sabres, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the reigning Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers.

The Red Wings are set to become Kane's third Original Six team after Chicago and the New York Rangers, who he was traded to after last year's deadline.

PATRICK KANE IS A DETROIT RED WING! <a href="https://t.co/2YQLtJHnZo">pic.twitter.com/2YQLtJHnZo</a>

Kane is attempting to become only the third player to come back to the NHL from the invasive hip operation, following defenceman Ed Jovanovski and centre Nicklas Backstrom. Jovanovski played only 37 games afterward, and Backstrom recently stepped away from the Washington Capitals 47 games into his attempt amid concerns about how his artificial left hip was holding up, with a return this season unlikely.

The surgery, which tennis star Andy Murray also had, involves dislocating the upper end of the thighbone, trimming it, capping it and removing cartilage before putting it back in place. Kane's expected recovery and rehab time was set at four to six months.

Adding Kane is