👋 Good morning!

We’re somewhat stuck in an odd spot as it pertains to coverage of Caleb Williams.

I get it — fans don’t want to hear alarm bells and calls of catastrophe in May during OTAs.

But both of these statements can be true: Caleb did not look great on Wednesday. He’s also in the early stages of learning and growing into an entirely new system.

So, why is it important to document his struggles this early in the process? To chart his growth over the next couple of weeks of OTAs, into training camp, and throughout his second season in the league.

Now we know where square one is. And it should be all up from here.

Blackhawks officially hire Jeff Blashill

The Blackhawks officially named Jeff Blashill the 42nd head coach in franchise history yesterday. Blashill, 51, will be formally introduced in a press conference next Tuesday.

• Blashill most recently served as an assistant coach under Jon Cooper for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Before that, Blashill spent seven seasons as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, where he compiled a 204-261-72 record and made one brief playoff appearance.
   

• Statement from Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson: “Jeff is an incredibly smart and talented coach who boasts more than 25 years of coaching experience across developmental leagues, the NHL and the world stage.
   
  “He’s thrived when in a position to develop young players and has shown he’s capable of blending that into overall team success, a vision and philosophy we share for where we are today and where we see our team in the future. We couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come under Jeff’s direction.”
   

• The team has not officially announced Blashill’s full coaching staff. However, Anders Sorensen, who served as the Blackhawks’ interim coach after the firing of Luke Richardson in December, is expected to remain on the bench as an assistant.
   
  Michael Peca, who was an assistant under Peter Laviolette with the New York Rangers, is also reportedly headed to Chicago in a similar role.

INSTANT REACTIONS TO THE HIRE:

Jay Zawaski » While there’s not a ton of excitement or jubilation around the Blashill hire, it’s totally fine in the context of what was available.

He’s done well developing players, has seven years of NHL head coaching experience, and has won championships at the USHL and AHL levels.

His Detroit rosters were Hot Garbage On Ice™️, so it will be interesting to see what he can do with a slightly better Hawks roster.

Hopefully, his time under Jon Cooper in Tampa has taught him a few tricks.

Mario Tirabassi » On the surface, Jeff Blashill won’t garner a ton of excitement. But with so many things in life and sports, context matters, and it matters immensely when it comes to Blashill’s résumé.

He oversaw some of the worst years in Red Wings history, but took them over as they prepared to fall off a cliff. And he never had the level of talent one might expect him to have in Chicago.

As Jon Cooper’s top assistant, he controlled the defensive structure, which led to tangible improvement in the Lightning’s defensive results over those three seasons.

Track records of NHL head coaches in their second stints support the idea of Blashill bringing that same improvement to Chicago and guiding the Blackhawks out of their rebuild.

Only time and on-ice results will tell.

GO DEEPER: The CHGO Blackhawks crew broke down the Blashill hire on yesterday’s show.

Quick Hits

HEY NOW, YOU’RE AN ALL-STAR: Major League Baseball is expected to award the 2027 All-Star Game to the Cubs and Wrigley Field at some point this summer, according to Bruce Levine.

Chicago has not held a Midsummer Classic since the White Sox hosted the game in 2003. Wrigley Field has not hosted the All-Star Game since 1990, when Ryne Sandberg won the Home Run Derby with three of the event’s five homers.

BE OUR GUEST: The Bears will hold separate joint practices with both the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills at Halas Hall this August.

The Bears play the Dolphins on August 10 at Soldier Field to kick off their preseason. Then, they’ll host the Bills, who are set to appear on this year’s preseason edition of HBO’s Hard Knocks, the following week.

We know ball puck

Today!

📺 CHGO Bears
12:00 on YouTube

📺 CHGO Blackhawks
2:00 on YouTube

📺 CHGO Bulls
4:00 on YouTube

⚾️ Cubs @ Reds
5:40 on Marquee

⚾️ White Sox vs. Rangers
6:40 on CHSN

Talk to you next week!

– Patrick Norton