Panthers, Wings in running in Patrick Kane derby

The long-awaited Patrick Kane decision should be coming soon and the Detroit Red Wings and Florida Panthers are two of the teams in the running.

According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, Kane is expected to make a decision early next week and the Panthers or Red Wings are two teams that could land the longtime Chicago Blackhawk superstar.

"I think we're going to have an idea early this week where he's leaning and what he's going to do," Friedman said on the Saturday Headlines segment of Hockey Night in Canada. "... A lot of us have speculated Florida, there is no question about that. But I believe another team he has collected a lot of information about is Detroit."

Friedman did warn that nothing is guaranteed, as Kane has kept this whole process very private.

"However, I wouldn't want to hazard a guess or say anything with 100 per cent, but I do believe he's down to a couple of teams and I think we are going to know early this upcoming week," Freidman explained.

Last week, Friedman said he believed the Toronto Maple Leafs were going to speak with Kane, but said it was unlikely that Kane would end up in Toronto.

"I don't expect Patrick Kane to be a Maple Leaf, I just think that they wanted to talk with him and him talk to them," Friedman said last Saturday. "I think he'll sort it out over the next few days."

Kane, 34, was traded last season from the Blackhawks, the team that drafted him first overall in 2007, to the New York Rangers. Between the two teams, the veteran forward tallied 21 goals and 57 points.

He underwent surgery on a nagging hip injury following the Rangers' elimination in the NHL playoffs and was set to miss 4-6 months.

He has 451 goals and 1237 points over the course of his career.