Ben Johnson Hired As The Next Bears Head Coach

Good morning Chicago fans! I hope you have a bit of adrenaline in your system as we close out the darkest, coldest month of the year. The Bears have a new coach! Of course, that usually precedes doomsday in about 3 years from now, but let’s be excited for a while. Ben Johnson is here!

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JUMP TO YOUR TEAM

• Blackhawks

• Bulls

• Bears

• Cubs

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

L - Hurricanes 4, Blackhawks 3 (OT)

Petr Mrazek bombarded as Hawks give up two leads

• Sebastian Aho scored 59 seconds into OT to complete the comeback from down 2-0 and 3-2

• Mrazek stopped 44 shots as the Hurricanes had 48 shots on goal and 91 attempts

L - Lightning 4, Blackhawks 3 (OT)

Another heartbreaking collapse

• Lightning scored with 8 seconds left in the 2nd period to get within 1 goal and tied the game with 42 seconds left in regulation

• Colton Dach scored his first NHL goal, Frank Nazar had a 2 point night (1g/1a)

• Arvid Soderblom kept the Hawks alive as they were outshot 40-14 🙄

L - Wild 4, Blackhawks 2

Miraculously close game after a flat start

• Hawks only had 5 shots on goal through the 1st 2 periods

• Ethan Del Mastro recorded his first NHL point (assist on a Nazar goal)

• Hawks actually won the faceoff battle 33-24 but couldn’t get one when it counted with an empty net

Star of the Week ⭐ Frank Nazar

Nazar is quickly figuring it out! 2 goals, 2 assists (4 points) this week!

Play of the Week 🎥 Tyler Bertuzzi goal

🚨 Traded Taylor Hall to the Carolina Hurricanes as part of a three-team deal 🚨

Blackhawks receive: 2025 3rd round pick (Their own pick that was traded to Carolina during the 2024 NHL Draft for a 2024 3rd round pick - Jack Pridham)

Hurricanes receive: Mikko Rantanen, Taylor Hall

Avalanche receive: Martin Necas, Jack Drury, 2025 2nd round pick, 2026 4th round pick

Blackhawks retain: 50% of Rantanen’s salary ($4.625M for this season)

The Hawks stepped in as the third-wheel broker in a massive superstar trade, and they came away with a draft pick near the top of the 3rd round. They made sure to acquire value for Hall who is an upcoming free agent. Honestly, any pick for a 0.5 point per game player seems worthwhile (9g/15a/24p in 46 games).

Hall was a promising acquisition by Kyle Davidson in 2023 with the hope that he would be a top line mainstay alongside Connor Bedard. Instead, he tore his ACL after 10 games, didn’t see eye-to-eye with Luke Richardson this season, didn’t produce as expected, fell back into a 4th line role, and was not offered any type of contract extension. It was time.

If reports are correct on the expected value for trading Hall straight up, this was a creative way to get a slightly higher draft pick. This also clears a roster spot for prospects who will join the team later in the season (Oliver Moore, Sam Rinzel, and Ryan Greene).

The best part of the trade is one sentence reported by Elliotte Friedman: “The Blackhawks brokered this deal. If Rantanen does hit the market this summer, it wouldn’t be a stunner to see them make a run at him.” If Davidson accomplished his deadline goals AND set himself up for a free agency pitch for a superstar…he may run laps around other GMs soon.

Recalled D Ethan Del Mastro from the AHL, placed Craig Smith on IR, assigned Wyatt Kaiser to the AHL

Signed F AJ Spellacy to a 3-year entry-level contract ($975K cap hit)

CHICAGO BULLS

W - Bulls 112, Clippers 99

Easy win in 2nd portion of unexpected back-to-back

• A 36-16 3rd quarter buried the Clippers

• Zach LaVine (35p) had another efficient night, and Josh Giddey (18p/9a/10r) had a near-triple-double

• Old friends Kris Dunn (2p) and Derrick Jones Jr. (12p) started for the Clippers

L - Warriors 131, Bulls 106

Lack of depth exposed in lopsided bench battle

• Reverse from last game: a 31-16 3rd quarter put the Bulls away

• Bulls bench was outscored 83-41 🤢

L - 76ers 109, Bulls 97

Sloppy play against shorthanded Sixers

• Turnovers and defensive mishaps ruined a close game as the Bulls were embarrassed in crunch time (29-14 4th quarter)

• Only 3 Bulls scored in double digits for the 2nd straight game

• Joel Embiid missed the game due to injury, Paul George injured his finger and only played 13 minutes

Star of the Week ⭐ Zach LaVine

The only Bull who could score this week: 28 points per game on 27/54 (50%) FG

Play of the Week 🎥 Josh Giddey unusual and-1

Matas Buzelis will compete in the NBA All-Star Dunk Contest!!!

Zach LaVine is the 6th player in Bulls history to score 10,000 points 🏅 (MJ, Pippen, Love, Deng, Sloan)

CHICAGO BEARS

OFFSEASON

🚨 Hired Ben Johnson as Head Coach 🚨

The Bears actually landed the top available candidate!!!

Ben Johnson let the search committee know he wanted the job, and Ryan Poles decided he was the guy. Move over Tom Brady and Shad Khan, the Bears are now a destination?

The former Lions offensive coordinator has been one of the most creative and effective play callers in the NFL over the last 3 seasons and could not be more excited to move to a division rival. His players love him, the NFL clearly thinks highly of him, and he is a Cubs fan, so he is clearly the right guy.

📰 I wrote a long-form piece about the hiring of Ben Johnson. Read it here:

Assistant coach updates:

Hired Declan Doyle as Offensive Coordinator (previously the Broncos TE Coach, only 28 years old, and an Iowa Hawkeyes grad!)

Hired Dennis Allen as Defensive Coordinator (previously the Saints Head Coach, has been a head coach twice and defensive coordinator twice)

Retained Richard Hightower as Special Teams Coordinator (seems like he loves being a Bear and had a largely successful unit in 2024, plus I think he holds the best press conference in town)

Hired Antwaan Randle El as Assistant Head Coach / WR Coach (previously the Lions WR Coach, originally from Riverdale, IL, and was drafted by the Cubs in the 1997 MLB Draft)

Hired Al Harris as Pass Game Coordinator / DB Coach (previously the Cowboys DB Coach)

Hired JT Barrett as QB Coach (previously the Lions Assistant QB Coach)

Ben Johnson won an award 3 days into his Bears tenure! He was named the PFWA NFL Assistant Coach of the Year 🏅

Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell received a contract extension

CHICAGO CUBS

OFFSEASON

🚨 Acquired RHP Ryan Pressly from the Houston Astros for prospect RHP Juan Bello 🚨

• Pressly most likely steps in as the Cubs closer. He has 112 saves and was an elite closer for the Astros before they acquired Josh Hader.

• Even though he struggled through most of last season and had a dip in velocity, he is a proven closer with a ton of postseason experience (2.78 postseson ERA). The intangibles and competitiveness are there. We’ll have to see if the stuff holds up.

• The Astros are covering $5.5M of Pressly’s $14M contract for 2025. He’ll be a free agent after the season. Basically, the Cubs acquired a legitimate closer for a lowly rated prospect and less money than most available relievers on the market!

• Bello is a 20-year old single-A starter who had a solid 2024 (3.21 ERA in 22 G)

• Should someone build a high-speed rail between Houston and Chicago??? The Cubs basically stole Kyle Tucker and Pressly from them this offseason…

Signed IF Jon Berti to a 1-year, $2M contract

• Righty contact hitter who can play all over the diamond

• Definitely can play 3B if Matt Shaw needs a longer transition time as he steps into the majors AND can play 2B if Nico Hoerner ends up not being healthy for the start of the season

• Led MLB with 41 stolen bases in 2022 👀

7 prospects were named to the updated 2025 MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospects list:

19) Matt Shaw, 52) Cade Horton, 54) Owen Caissie, 69) Moises Ballesteros, 73) James Triantos, 90) Kevin Alcantara, 97) Jefferson Rojas

Adbert Alzolay is officially no longer a Cub - he signed a 2-year minor league contract with the New York Mets

SAY WHAT?

A CITYWIDE SALUTE

Jalen Smith

Smith talks about mental health with youth in Chicago:

champsmentoring

View more on Instagram

MILD TAKE

The Bears need to sign Trey Smith in Free Agency.

Smith is widely regarded as one of the best guards in the NFL. He has started for the Kansas City Chiefs at right guard for 4 straight seasons and won 2 Super Bowls (so far).

The Chiefs may end up moving salaries around in an attempt to keep him, but reports suggest he will be able to test the market and find a huge payday somewhere else.

This offseason is very intriguing from a personnel standpoint for the Bears. Ben Johnson and his staff will bring a new perspective to the current roster and the way they want to play moving forward. There may be scheme fit issues with current players, and there could easily be more shuffling than we expect.

Free agent targets will be fascinating as Johnson and Ryan Poles work together for the first time. The Bears have approximately $66M of cap space for 2025 as of now and should invest in star talent.

I would rank the Bears positional needs this way (in order):

OG/DE/OC/TE/WR

A Teven Jenkins extension would be surprising, so I’m expecting the Bears to acquire 2 new starting guards. The entire interior of the offensive line needs a makeover, so addressing at least 2 of those spots in free agency is necessary.

Besides being a dominant player, Smith also has Bears connections. He was drafted by the Chiefs in 2021 when Ryan Poles still worked in the personnel department, and he played next to Darnell Wright in college at Tennessee. Reuniting those two on the right side of the line would be insane.

His story is also inspiring. He prayed for his current situation since he was 5 years old and has overcome numerous challenges in his life. Smith would immediately become one of the best Bears players and one of the most influential in the city of Chicago. Read more about his background here:

I’m tired of replacement level stand-ins on the offensive line. I didn’t expect Ryan Poles to fix all 5 spots in his first 3 offseasons as GM, but it’s past time to invest in elite talent to elevate the play of the entire unit. Bring Trey Smith to Chicago.

HITTING THE LINKS

Mark Lazerus - Are the Blackhawks better or worse under Anders Sorensen? (The Athletic)

Adam Jahns - How Ben Johnson ‘created a monster’ of an offense (The Athletic)

Julia Poe - Could Lonzo Ball end up being the Bulls’ best trade asset? (Chicago Tribune)

Scott Powers - What I’m hearing about the Blackhawks (The Athletic)

Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney - What we’re hearing about the Cubs (The Athletic)

TWO MINUTE WARNING

Thanks for reading! Keep your head up this week! I mean, Patrick Mahomes is headed to another Super Bowl, so why would we be upset?