Thoughts on Patrick Kane, tearing up the Hamburgler myth, eating crow and more …

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My 10th annual Interactive Playoff Draft List is updated as of Sunday, pick it up here for $8.99. It includes my own picks, a printable spreadsheet, injury notes, tips, etc.

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Patrick Kane is supposedly going to be cleared for contact today and he will probably play in Game 1 of the playoffs. Get the word out quickly, so that he’s not a sleeper pick in your pool. You want everyone to know about him so that someone else can pick him in the first round. It’s not that he’s undeserving of such a spot. But it's the fact that I don’t really trust that he can hang in there through 20 playoff games. I’m also not all that confident in Chicago, but that’s another story. Anyway, back to Kane. This is a collarbone fracture, not a knee sprain. He’s returning four weeks early. How often does he get hammered into the boards? If it’s not fully healed, he’s toast. If I’m Chicago, I hold him out as long as I can. Wait until the other team has two wins. Maybe that doesn’t happen in the first round, in which case you bought Kane some precious time. X-rays may show that the fracture is healed, but how strong is the bone now really? Would two more weeks work wonders? I don’t like it. But that’s the latest on him, so consider yourself informed.

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Chicago recalled Anti Raanta and Kyle Cumiskey for depth. Raanta’s NHL numbers are steller at 7-4-1, 0.936 and 1.89. His AHL numbers are pretty good too at 8-1-1, 0.918 and 2.38. Don’t give up on him yet, he’ll get an opportunity. Eventually. Somewhere.

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The Leafs cleaned house and Ian broke the impact down yesterday here. But I’ll add some thoughts, since the Leafs are one of my two favorite teams and I also live in the Toronto area. People are concerned about Peter Horachek and rightfully so. After all, how can he possibly get another coaching job. Well, I strongly believe that MLSE will take care of him. I think he was under orders to teach a system at any cost – and to not be afraid of losing games (i.e. “tanking”). Now, any normal person would just quit. Why put what is sure to be a 15-30-5 record (or worse, as it turned out) on your resume to do a job that is preordained to fail? The answer is simple. He had assurances. Either a plum job in the player personnel department for a couple of years followed by a promised head coaching gig of the Marlies, or something along those lines. Maybe a nice monetary bonus to get him through the next year until the memory of his results fade away. But Horachek will be fine.

But if you think Mike Babcock is joining this team, you’re smoking some good dope. Why in the hell would he join this team? Granted, firing over 20 people in management and staff is a good try – if anything can get Babcock here, that would. But he’s not coming. Why would he want to coach a band of misfits to what will be at least five consecutive non-playoff finishes in a market in which the fan base will start bitching about not getting any results by 2017? Even with a full rebuild, 75% new roster and Babcock approving every hiring from top to bottom, the team is going to lose a lot over the next five years.

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I don’t agree with the Ted Nolan firing, that’s for sure. This is one team actually expected to lose the most games. On paper and on the ice, clearly the worst team. And he had them competitive most games. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised he was reprimanded in January for winning too many games! Firing him makes it pretty clear that he was asked in advance if he wanted the job for one year. And he took it because no other job offers were forthcoming. But just an undeserved firing – the Sabres got exactly the season they wanted in 2014-15.

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Jaromir Jagr signs a one-year extension for $3.5 million plus $1.5 in games played bonuses. Good value, and I bet he gets a similar contract next summer. I think he’ll get 45 points next year and maybe in the high 30s in 2016-17. And then in the summer of 2017 he won’t get a contract. He’s kept himself in elite shape and it’s added five years to his career. And a good $17 million.

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Andrew Hammond finishes 20-1-2, 1.79 and 0.941. That’s simply unrealistic at all levels. His best numbers in his entire history, at any level, are: 27-12-1, 2.30 and 0.912 back in 2009 as a 21-year-old overager in the BCHL. And this season in the AHL he was 7-13-2, 3.51 and 0.898 for Binghamton. Not luck? Not luck? Are you kidding me? The team is playing with confidence in front of him, and yes the coaching system suits his game perfectly. So maybe that makes him an NHL goaltender. Maybe even an NHL starter, an average one. But he is not a superstar. And I’d be extremely wary about drafting him for next season. For the playoffs, sure. He’s on fire right now and a hot goalie is very real, it happens all the time.