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Is Patrick Kane the Blackhawks GOAT?

 Patrick Kane scored his 400th career goal on Sunday against the Red Wings (DE-TROIT SUCKS!) and continues to add to his Hall of Fame resume during his 14th year in the NHL. I just want to talk about how insane this guy is. Kane has been a star, and arguably the best player on the Blackhawks, every year since his rookie season in 2007. (Some can argue that Toews has had better seasons, but now Kane is undoubtedly the best player on the team.) The fact that he is still performing at the same level, if not a higher level, in his 14th season is crazy. He's a front-runner for the Hart Trophy (the NHL's MVP award, for all my non-hockey fans out there.) currently and is carrying a team of youngsters into the playoff picture. Reminder that this team was also projected to be in the basement at the start of the year. Some "experts" didn't even have them winning more than 10 games. The current success of the team is definitely an all-around effort, but Kane is absolutely at the forefront in terms of stats and leadership.

With his 400th career goal against the Red Wings on Sunday, Kane became only the fourth player in Blackhawks history to reach that milestone. Legendary players such as Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull are still a couple hundred goals ahead of him, and whether Kane reaches them is to be determined. However, I think that there is a great argument to already consider Patrick Kane the greatest Blackhawk of all time. Sure, the older guys have more padded stats, but you gotta remember that the game was different back then and goalies were less skilled. (And weren't wearing giant pillows on their legs.) Kane is still up there in the top 5-10 in many Blackhawks statistical categories though, and the one thing he has over the older guys is the accomplishments. Kane's got three Stanley Cups, an MVP (maybe two after this season!), a Rookie of the Year, is a 9-time all star, and a few other trophies in the trophy case to his name. He's been at the forefront of a dynasty and is currently at the forefront of a super young, talented team that has lots of promise to be dangerous in the next few years. It's definitely up for debate, but I truly think that Kane may have already cemented his legacy as the greatest player in Blackhawks franchise history. And if he hasn't yet, he may just do so within the next few years of his career. (or 20 years, because at the rate this dude's playing, he ain't retiring any time soon.)


Now that the Patrick Kane love fest is over, let's check in on our other beloved franchises.

The Cubs started spring training this week. I've never been one to take spring training too seriously, because it usually doesn't mean much, but they have performed well. They've won two games and tied once, so they're looking decent. Joc Pederson even got his first homer in a Cubs uniform, so that was nice to see as well. If you read the blog two weeks ago though, you know that I'm not too high on the Cubs this season. Hopefully they prove me wrong.


I feel like the Bulls have been the exact same ever since I started this blog. They can hang with any team and they're winning some exciting games. They don't have the ability to close out against good teams yet, but hopefully that will come soon. I might just stop writing about the Bulls until they go on a winning streak or something, because I feel like I'm saying the same thing every week.


And finally, there's the Bears. I don't have much to say, because I don't want to jinx anything like I did with JJ Watt. (damnit, JJ. I thought you loved Chicago.) However, I will say this. Russel Wilson, if you're reading this somehow, please come to the Bears. That is all.



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