Blackhawks And Bulls Stumble Out Of The Break

Good morning Chicago fans! It was another winless week for our teams. Even Team USA had the hockey gold medals snatched away from them in overtime. It’s so refreshing to have warmer weather and baseball in the air! I hope you have as much joy as Nico Hoerner when you’re watching Spring Training baseball:

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JUMP TO YOUR TEAM

• Blackhawks

• Bulls

• Bears

• Cubs

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

L - Blue Jackets 5, Blackhawks 1

Long 4 Nations break led to a no-show

• Hawks actually outshot the Blue Jackets 28-21, drew 5 penalties, and still looked completely outmatched

• A Connor Bedard goal was erased due to a non-existent goalie interference, and Anders Sorensen decided not to challenge the call

L - Maple Leafs 5, Blackhawks 2

Another complete team dud

• Defensive lapses and unsteady goalie play haunted the Hawks for the 2nd straight game

• Lukas Reichel was benched halfway through the 2nd period and finished with 7:35 of ice time

• Philipp Kurashev and Teuvo Teravainen scored the Hawks’ goals

Star of the Week ⭐ Frank Nazar

2 assists with 5 shots in 2 games

Play of the Week 🎥 Frank Nazar to Philipp Kurashev goal

🌟 4 Nations Face-Off 🌟

• Teravainen was replaced on Finland’s roster for the 3rd game of the Round Robin portion of the tournament

• USA vs. Canada was a thriller in the Championship! Canada came out on top again with another 3-2 OT victory reminiscent of the Toews vs. Kane 2010 Olympics battle

Seth Jones publicly said he is open to a trade. Jones and his agent are pushing for a trade now, but he has considered the idea in the past. He never seemed excited to be in Chicago despite wearing the A patch and accepting a heavy workload.

Stan Bowman traded for him in his kitchen sink last-ditch effort to be competitive in 2021. The team started 0-7-2, Bowman resigned a few months later, and the rebuild quickly began.

The $9.5M annual cap hit makes his contract extremely difficult to move. Even though I don’t want the Hawks to be stuck retaining any money for the next 5 seasons, I want a trade to happen. Clearing his contract off the books would be a huge help as the team fills out the roster and relies on the upcoming blue line powerhouses.

Artyom Levshunov and Sam Rinzel can anchor the right side!

Hawks legend Bobby Hull was diagnosed with CTE. He donated his brain to science, and the latest test results were in line with the majority of NHLers who have done the same. (See Hitting the Links below for more details)

Organist Frank Pellico retired after 33 years with the Blackhawks 👏

CHICAGO BULLS

L - Knicks 113, Bulls 111 (OT)

Almost pulled off a heart and hustle win!

• Josh Giddey scored a season-high 27 points with 16 rebounds and hit a clutch 3 in the final minutes of regulation

• 2 disastrous final possessions: Nikola Vucevic got blocked at the end of the 4th quarter and was forced to throw up a prayer at the end of OT

• Defensive effort was much better from the Bulls!

L - Suns 121, Bulls 117

Suns’ superstars hand the Bulls their 6th straight loss

• Bradley Beal hit the dagger 3 as Beal (25p), Kevin Durant (27p), and Devin Booker (29p) carried the Suns

• Brother battle between Tre and Tyus Jones for the 11th time in their careers!

• Ayo Dosunmu and Jalen Smith were out due to injury

Star of the Week ⭐ Josh Giddey

25.5p/7a/12r per game, 7/11 (63.6%) 3PT, 2 double-doubles

Play of the Week 🎥 Lonzo Ball block

Waived Adama Sanogo, signed Jahmir Young to a two-way contract

• Sanogo will reportedly miss 4 more weeks with his knee injury

• Never forget the 20/20 game Sanogo had in April 2024! He was the only rookie in the NBA besides Victor Wembanyama to accomplish that feat last season

• Young is a G-Leaguer guard who scored 20.4 ppg in college at Maryland

Patrick Williams received an injection for the knee injury he suffered before the break. He will be reevaluated in 2 weeks.

Chicago City Council approved the 1901 project - the redevelopment of the United Center surroundings

CHICAGO BEARS

OFFSEASON

Released DE DeMarcus Walker and TE Gerald Everett

• Clears $10.75M off the books for 2025, leaving the Bears with almost $80M of cap space

• Walker was a productive Bear in his 2 seasons: played all 34 games, had 7 sacks, and was a vocal leader for the D-Line. His versatility was helpful as the roster lacked depth, and he was effective playing inside and out.

• I was excited about the Everett signing last offseason! The Bears needed a move TE, he was athletic, he had a good relationship with Shane Waldron and Chris Beatty, and he seemed like another YAC threat. EVERYTHING went wrong, and he ended up with only 8 catches for 36 yards in a Bears uniform.

Ian Cunningham did not get hired as the Jaguars GM and will remain with the Bears

Promoted Matt Feinstein from Director of Football Administration to Vice President of Football Administration

Officially finalized the entire coaching staff. List is here.

NFL Salary Cap will be approximately $277M-$281M for the 2025 season. That’s $3M+ higher than expected and a significant jump up from the $255M cap in 2024.

NFL Combine is this week!!! Feels like yesterday we were hearing about George McCaskey lurking in the back of the interview room and Caleb Williams rumors flying all around…

CHICAGO CUBS

OFFSEASON

Spring Training games began!

• Cubs are 4-0! Clearly never going to lose in 2025!

• Justin Steele struck out 5 hitters in 2 scoreless innings on Saturday

• Cody Poteet used the ABS (automatic ball-strike challenge system) in the 1st inning of the 1st game. A ball was overturned to a strike to make the count 0-2 against Max Muncy. MLB is experimenting with the system ONLY during Spring Training.

Signed 1B/DH Justin Turner to a 1-year, $6M contract

• The long-time Dodger is 40 years young and provides GREAT depth at 1B, DH, and possibly 3B if needed

• Career .821 OPS and had a great 2nd half in 2024

• He brings postseason experience, a valuable RH bat off the bench, and impressive plate discipline

• I guess I need to forget about his 2017 NLCS Walk-Off HR against John Lackey in Game 2

Signed RHP Chris Flexen, OF Greg Allen, and OF Travis Jankowski to minor league contracts

DFA’d Alexander Canario - hopefully he gets a real chance elsewhere to be an every day CF. He was out of minor league options and was squeezed out of the Cubs roster. The raw power is impressive, but he hasn’t put it all together yet with limited opportunities.

Shota Imanaga was named as the Opening Day Starter in Tokyo

PCA switched his number to #4. His jersey will be a little less crowded now!! Jed Hoyer wanted PCA to make the switch and said it had to happen if he made a specific basketball shot. I guess his Hall of Fame jersey will have the #4 because Jed made a jumper 🤷‍♂️

Owen Caissie is shut down with a strained groin

SAY WHAT?

A CITYWIDE SALUTE

Kevin Dean

The Blackhawks assistant coach had surgery for prostate cancer and is recovering well 🙏 As he receives a ton of support from family and former teammates, he is advocating for men to get screened early and often.

He can’t skate for a couple weeks, but he’s already back to coaching!

MILD TAKE

Ben Johnson will find a new RB1.

Whether a player joins the Bears on a $3M free agent contract OR gets drafted, Johnson will find his new workhouse running back from outside of the current roster.

D’Andre Swift can be used in the role he was signed for - as an elusive change of pace back who is an elite receiving threat out of the backfield.

Roschon Johnson can be used in short yardage situations, unless the new player is effective as a power back, and may end up as a primary special teams contributor.

Gibbs and Montgomery to Swift and Johnson would be a harsh wakeup call for the best offensive schemer in the game. Top 5 rushing offenses are built in the trenches, but they also require special skills from the ball carrier. Swift misread a ton of plays this season when running through a non-existent hole, and the ability to run throughout the entirety of the game makes Johnson’s offenses tick.

Even though Ian Wheeler would be a fun player to see step into the 3rd running back role, moving Swift and Johnson to 2 and 3 seems the most beneficial.

HITTING THE LINKS

Jen McCaffrey - How Theo Epstein and Dustin Pedroia shaped the Red Sox’s successful pursuit of Alex Bregman (The Athletic)

Brad Biggs - 7 thoughts entering NFL combine (Chicago Tribune)

Frank Seravalli - Bobby Hull posthumously diagnosed with CTE (Daily Faceoff)

Sahadev Sharma - Relievers Daniel Palencia, Brad Keller open Cubs’ eyes in Cactus League opener (The Athletic)

Scott Powers - Inside the unique connection between Blackhawks’ Anders Sörensen, Leafs’ William Nylander (The Athletic)

Julia Poe - Lonzo Ball says re-signing in Chicago reflects loyalty from the Bulls: ‘It just feels like family’ (Chicago Tribune)

Topps - Jim McMahon and Caleb Williams commercial (YouTube)

Chicago Bulls - Behind-the-scenes with Matas Buzelis at NBA All-Star Weekend (YouTube)

TWO MINUTE WARNING

Thanks for reading! As always, reply with any feedback or thoughts! Get ready for a TON of Bears rumors at the Combine.