DJ Moore And The Entire Blackhawks Leadership Group Are Traded Away

GOOD MORNING, CHICAGO FANS

There were VERY windy conditions in Chicago sports this week. Drew Dalman shockingly retired, a whole host of former captains were traded away, and rosters have been shaken up. It’s all part of the long road to a championship!

It’s time for new leadership 👀

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

L - JETS 3 BLACKHAWKS 2 (F/OT)

SLIGHTLY SCHEIFELE

• Mark Scheifele scored the overtime winner after the Jets tied the game 2-2 with 39 seconds left in regulation

• Hawks played a solid first two periods and took a 2-1 lead on a Ryan Greene snipe

• Hawks scored a power play goal for a 4th straight game

L - CANUCKS 6 BLACKHAWKS 3

FACING REALITY

• Wild 1st period got away from the Hawks before settling in for the final 2 periods

• Fluky mid-air goal gave the Canucks a 4-3 lead early in the 3rd, and a Landon Slaggert kick disallowed a Hawks goal

• The young centers struggled at the dot (32.7% faceoffs)

L - STARS 4 BLACKHAWKS 3 (F/OT)

CATCH 22

• Miro Heiskanen scored the game-winner just 22 seconds into OT after Connor Bedard scored the Hawks’ 1st 6-on-5 goal of the entire season

• Bertuzzi and Rinzel scored early in the 1st period

• Stars outshot the Hawks 31-19 and won 69.0% of the faceoffs

STAR OF THE WEEK ⭐ Frank Nazar

1 goal and 4 assists (5 points) on 7 shots

PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥 Team passing and Ilya Mikheyev goal

TRADE DEADLINE

Traded Connor Murphy to the Edmonton Oilers (50% retained) for a 2028 2nd round pick

• Of course Stan Bowman had to reacquire a player he traded for back in 2017 when Chicago threw a fit about losing Niklas Hjalmarsson!

• The longest tenured Blackhawk is now gone after a resurgent season. He was underrated in his time here, a respected voice in the locker room, and a fantastic community member for the city.

Traded Jason Dickinson (50% retained) and Colton Dach to the Edmonton Oilers for a 2027 1st round pick (Top 12 Protected) and F Andrew Mangiapane

• Watch out, Kyle Davidson fleeced Stan Bowman twice in a matter of days! Securing a 1st round pick for Dickinson and Dach is wizardry.

• Dickinson was also a great Blackhawk with an impressive story - from a Vancouver cap dump to a 22-goal scorer in 2023-2024 and a vocal leader

• Dach was talked about as a potential top-liner enforcer next to Bedard, but his development never advanced enough

• Mangiapane is in the midst of a couple down years but has the type of motor the Hawks always covet

Traded Nick Foligno to the Minnesota Wild for future considerations

• The captain gets to chase a Cup with his brother! This trade is purely a good-guy move by Kyle Davidson - allowing Foligno to opt for a trade and join forces with Marcus Foligno in Minnesota.

Traded F Aidan Thompson to the New York Rangers for D Derrick Pouliot

• Thompson was a 3rd round pick in 2022 and hasn’t made a huge impression at the AHL level

• Pouliot is a 32-year old Stanley Cup champion who can provide a veteran presence with Rockford

Blackhawks legend Troy Murray passed away after a difficult battle with cancer. It’s evident how much he meant to everyone in the Blackhawks organization over many years. Prayers for his family 🙏

Recalled D Ethan Del Mastro from the AHL, assigned Kevin Korchinski to the AHL, activated Wyatt Kaiser from IR

Prospect Sacha Boisvert (18th overall pick in 2024) will turn pro after his college season and join the Hawks

Bedard and Bertuzzi will wear the “A” as alternate captains for the remainder of the season. It’s unclear if anyone will join them, but everyone will have to step up after all 3 captains were traded away in a matter of days.

SCHEDULE 📅 M/TH/SAT

CHICAGO BULLS

L - THUNDER 116 BULLS 108

WHEN IT SPRAINS IT POURS

• Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey sprained their ankles and forced the end of the rotation to try to stay afloat

• Collin Sexton led the Bulls with 20 points off the bench and kept them in the game

• Guerschon Yabusele hit 4 3PTs and had 18p/12r

W - BULLS 105 SUNS 103

THE ANTI-TANK LINEUP

• Bulls never trailed in a game started by Jones/Sexton/Okoro/Miller/Yabusele

• Sexton had a season-high 30 points on 11/19 shooting

• Bulls dominated the paint (68-44 points), and the Suns were ice cold from the field (39% FG)

L - KINGS 126 BULLS 110

KINGS OF THE BASEMENT

• Kings entered the night as the worst team in the league, with 14 wins, and dominated play

• Sexton made a career-high 7 3PTs and scored 28 points before leaving with a leg contusion

• Malik Monk led the DeMar and Zach-less Kings with 30 points

STAR OF THE WEEK ⭐ Collin Sexton

26.0p/3.3a per game, 50.0% 3PT

PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥 Tre Jones last-second toss

Josh Giddey is now 2nd in Bulls franchise history with 16 triple-doubles

SCHEDULE 📅 T/TH/F

CHICAGO BEARS

OFFSEASON

PRE FREE-AGENCY ROSTER MOVEMENT

Drew Dalman retired from the NFL at 27 years old

• This was the 12-6 curveball of the offseason! After just one season with the Bears and five seasons in the NFL, Dalman is stepping away. Details aren’t out regarding his mindset, but I’m assuming he has significant reasons for calling it quits. His dad played in the NFL, so he’s familiar with the impacts of the game.

• The Bears landed him as the top free agent center a year ago, and they have RAVED about him ever since. Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams, and others always boast about Dalman’s intelligence, attention to detail, and decision making. He was the engine of the 2025 Bears offense.

Traded DJ Moore and a 2026 5th round pick to the Buffalo Bills for a 2026 2nd round pick

• I’ll miss DJ 🥺 He’s one of my favorite Bears, and I advocated for keeping him. Unfortunately, the Bears needed to move money out the door, and their young weapons showed them enough promise in 2025 that they’re comfortable with moving on.

• Moore was the ultimate professional, probably the toughest guy in the locker room (frequently called “Wolverine”), made historically clutch catches, excelled in every role given to him, took younger receivers under his wing as little brothers, and was one of the funniest athletes in Chicago. I’m glad he gets to team up with an elite quarterback and play for a good team!

• I have to say…a 2nd round pick for a pricy contract like that is excellent value!

• Played for Bills head coach Joe Brady in 2020 and 2021 when Brady was the offensive coordinator in Carolina

Released Tremaine Edmunds

• Edmunds played well before his injury last season and is another leader being pushed out the door. Off-ball linebackers just don’t have contractual value in the NFL these days, and the Bears still needed to move money around.

Acquired C Garrett Bradbury from the New England Patriots for a 2027 5th round pick

• College teammates with Joe Thuney at NC State! They even roomed together on road trips!

• Owed $4.7M in 2026 and will be a free agent after one season in Chicago

• Hosted free agent C Tyler Biadasz on a visit before he signed for 3 yr/$30M with the Chargers. Another free agent option, Connor McGovern, re-signed with the Bills for 4 yr/$52M

Re-signed DE/ST Daniel Hardy to a 2-year contract extension

• Hardy was a mainstay on special teams last season!

Potential trade target Maxx Crosby was traded to the Baltimore Ravens for 2 1st round picks. I’m glad the Bears didn’t give up that much draft capital for him!

Former Bear David Montgomery was traded to the Houston Texans

Former head coach Matt Eberflus was hired by the San Francisco 49ers as the assistant head coach of defense

NFL Free Agency ➡️ BEGINS TODAY!

CHICAGO CUBS

OFFSEASON

SPRING TRAINING

• Team is 7-9 and giving ABs to a wide range of players

• Dansby Swanson is 7-for-15 with 2 HR, 6 RBI, and a 1.567 OPS

• Seiya Suzuki hit 2 deep HRs in the World Baseball Classic!

• Jordan Wicks (radial nerve irritation) and Porter Hodge (right flexor strain) will start the season on the IL. Both pitchers are extremely talented and can’t shake the injury bug!

MLB Pipeline released their updated prospect rankings. Here are the Cubs’ Top 5:

1) Moises Ballesteros C
2) Jaxon Wiggins RHP
3) Ethan Conrad OF
4) Kevin Alcantara OF
5) Jefferson Rojas SS

SAY WHAT?

A CITYWIDE SALUTE

Craig and Brady Counsell

The Cubs manager and his son exchanged lineup cards in Thursday’s Cubs/Diamondbacks Spring Training game. Brady was a 10th round draft pick last summer and now had the privilege of appearing in a professional game against his dad. Brady drew a walk in his only plate appearance!

MILD TAKE

The Bears won’t make a “splash” in free agency.

A lot of money moved around in the past week, but the Bears still don’t have much breathing room.

Contract restructuring could help a lot, but they currently have $26M of space before even signing any rookies they will draft next month.

With Maxx Crosby heading to Baltimore, some fans are dreaming of Trey Hendrickson or another elite pass rusher. I just don’t see it happening. Ryan Poles always emphasizes NOT pushing money into the future, and he also moves in silence.

His first free agent signings are always a surprise to even the most plugged in NFL insiders. They’ll find a couple new defensive starters, and they’ll fill out the depth of the team. Daniel Hardy was just the first bottom-of-the-53 domino to fall.

I believe 5+ spots on the defense could be filled with new starters for the 2026 season. You never know, Poles could have something up his sleeve like Matt Eberflus had that one day. But I truly think they’re going to remain measured and rely on another strong draft class to improve this roster and build a sustainable winner.

HITTING THE LINKS

Maddie Lee - Cubs' Jameson Taillon honors family history with return to Team Canada for WBC (Chicago Sun-Times)

Mark Lazerus and Scott Powers - Blackhawks player poll results: Connor Bedard’s chirps, Tyler Bertuzzi’s style and more roasting (The Athletic)

Ben Pope - Blackhawks prospect updates: Sacha Boisvert will turn pro after college season ends (Chicago Sun-Times)

Barstool Chicago - Kyle Davidson On The Blackhawks Philosophy For Building a Contender & Chicago's Young Stars (YouTube)

TWO MINUTE WARNING

Thanks for reading! Get ready for a whole new crew of Bears!