👋 Good morning!

Stay inside (if you can).

Seriously.

I thought Soldier Field was bad last Sunday.

I also thought my tear ducts freezing before the Browns-Bears game last month was bad.

That -6º felt like a balmy 78º compared to this.

And if you absolutely need to go out, good luck, we’re all counting on you.

– Patrick Norton

Caleb Williams, Colston Loveland lead impressive ‘core group’ Ben Johnson can build on

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Recalibrating

All right. The Bears’ season is officially over. We’ve eulogized it just about every way possible, aside from a moving musical tribute from Carm.

It’s time to refocus. The Blackhawks. The Bulls. Baseball is around the corner. And soon enough, the NFL Scouting Combine will be here.

I’ve kept tabs on the Blackhawks and Bulls throughout the season, but I thought I’d ask Jay Zawaski and Will Gottlieb for their takes on what to watch for through the final few months of the season.

From Jay Zawaski:

Can Connor Bedard resume the scoring pace he was on before his injury?

Before he went down, Bedard had 44 points in 31 games. Since his return, he has one goal and three assists in six games. It's a small sample size, but Bedard has shown signs of rust since returning, which is totally understandable. If he can return to his prior form, the Blackhawks could stay in the wild-card race for a while here.
Will the Blackhawks trade any veterans?

The NHL trade deadline is March 6th, but many experts expect a "pre-Olympics" deadline. The roster freeze is February 4th. Will they make a deal before then? Veterans like Jason Dickinson and Connor Murphy have already received some interest, while other veterans on expiring deals, like Ilya Mikheyev and Nick Foligno, could be on the move as well.

Handicapping, I'd say there's a better than 50 percent chance Murphy and/or Dickinson are moved. Mikheyev, I'll put at 20 percent, as I think the Hawks would like him back. I’d say Foligno has a 5 percent chance to be on the move. I think he's going to see his captaincy through the end of the season.
Which prospects will make their debuts this season?

Anton Frondell is expected to play for the Blackhawks this season. He's already under contract and will likely head over as soon as his Swedish team, Djurgårdens IF, wraps up its season. Could Sacha Boisvert come to Chicago if his Boston University season ends sooner than expected? Possibly.

From Will Gottlieb:

The NBA Trade Deadline is less than two weeks away.

The Bulls are in a position to be one of the league’s biggest sellers. With seven contracts worth $90 million coming off the books after this season, EVP of Basketball Ops Arturas Karnisovas has the flexibility he needs to start making changes to the roster.

But with the team back at the .500 mark, will Karnisovas remain satisfied with a team that can compete on a nightly basis? Or will he finally make moves that set the Bulls in any direction that isn’t the middle?
With that in mind…

Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu are two of the more notable expiring contracts, and also the two most valuable trade chips. A couple of organizational wins, not to mention fan favorites who have been around for years, will Karnisovas look to flip them for assets with which to move forward, or will they be entrenched in the Bulls’ longer-term future?
As mediocre as the Bulls are…

The Eastern Conference is as open and unthreatening as ever. The Bulls have looked great as often as they have looked terrible, but if they could find any semblance of consistency down the stretch run, their first playoff appearance since 2022 – and second since trading Jimmy Butler in 2017 – could be in store.

Much of that depends on the growth and development of two of the most secure pieces the Bulls currently have: Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis.

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Hey, look! The Blackhawks and Bulls played last night, too! Great timing.

Blackhawks 4, Hurricanes 3 – F/SO: Have a night, Oliver Moore!

Moore’s Thursday:

tallied an assist
got his butt kicked in a fight
scored the game-winner in the shootout
turned 21 years old

It won’t technically count as a Gordie Howe hat trick, but Moore’s big night played a huge role in the Blackhawks stealing two points on the road against the best team in the Metropolitan Division.

Holding onto a lead was a bit of a struggle for the Blackhawks, who led on three different occasions throughout the game for a grand total of seven minutes and one second.

But Spencer Knight was a brick wall in the shootout, stopping five of the six shots he faced.

Also worth noting, the Blackhawks finished the night 5-for-5 on the penalty kill, with Ilya Mikheyev scoring a shorthanded goal in the first period.

Big win all around.

Bulls 120, Timberwolves 115: So long, Cardiac Bears. Welcome back, Cardiac Bulls. Not to mention, they’re back to the .500 mark with last night’s come-from-behind win.

Josh Giddey’s return to the court from an 11-game absence was a big factor for the Bulls, scoring 21 points in 26 minutes off the bench.

Tre Jones was everywhere down the stretch, picking up a massive steal in the final minute before tacking on a critical layup to put the Bulls ahead by three with 31.1 seconds left.

Jalen Smith scored nine of his 17 points in the fourth quarter. Coby White led the way for the Bulls with 22 points despite shooting just 3-of-10 from beyond the arc.

At 22-22, this is the latest into the season the Bulls have been .500 since 2022 – the last time the Bulls made the playoffs.

MORE: Will Gottlieb, Matt Peck & Big Dave’s reactions to the win