👋 Good morning!
So, the longer Josh Giddey remains unsigned, the better for the Bulls, right?
In fact, the Brooklyn Nets trading for Michael Porter Jr. yesterday means nobody can outbid the Bulls for their point guard. As a restricted free agent, Giddey can still sign elsewhere, but the Bulls will have the opportunity to match any offer.
This is admittedly a decent sign for the front office. Why? It means the Bulls might not be negotiating against themselves to keep Giddey after all.
Giddey, 22, obviously came out of his shell a bit after last season’s trade deadline, averaging 20.0 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 8.5 assists down the stretch.
But if the Bulls can reasonably knock a few million off an average annual salary once believed to be around $30 million, then it makes Isaac Okoro’s fully guaranteed 2026-27 year a smidge more palatable.
Congratulations, AKME. You haven’t been totally outclassed on this…yet.
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Tempered Expectations
Free agency opens in the NHL at 11 a.m. this morning. Here’s what to keep an eye on for the Blackhawks:
FREE AGENCY: Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like much on that front. Maybe GM Kyle Davidson makes a depth signing or adds a singular top-six veteran forward like Nikolaj Ehlers from the Winnipeg Jets.
Ehlers, 29, has scored 49 goals over the last two seasons with the Jets, but hasn’t averaged 16 minutes of time on ice since the 2021-22 season. The Blackhawks have the money to make a competitive offer, but that’s about the only competitive thing about the team right now.
Would Ehlers be interested in signing with the Blackhawks even if it means missing out on playoff hockey as the team rounds out its rebuild process? If yes, then he’d make an excellent addition and wing option for Connor Bedard.
SPEAKING OF BEDARD: The 19-year-old (turns 20 in a couple of weeks) is now officially eligible for his first contract extension with the Blackhawks. That doesn’t mean Bedard will put pen to paper at 11 a.m. this morning, but it could happen at any point going forward.
It’s important to note that Bedard, even if the Blackhawks, for some reason, couldn’t agree to a deal before next summer, is an RFA and any offer he accepts, the Blackhawks would be able to match.
But we’re not going to get to that point, either. After the season ended in April, Bedard said: “I love it here, and I have a great relationship with Kyle [Davidson] and everyone. … I know that I want to be here for a long time.”
Most of the uber-attractive options, like Mitch Marner and Sam Bennett, are off the board. Pipe dreams at best, Bennett re-signed with the Florida Panthers, and Marner agreed to a sign-and-trade to head out to Vegas for the next eight years.
Even Patrick Kane re-signed with the Red Wings before hitting the market.
It’s an unfortunate consequence of the NHL’s rising salary cap. And the timing couldn’t be worse for the Blackhawks.
Good teams weren’t always able to loosen their belt a notch and re-up most of their more deserving players. Now, it seems like it’d take a miracle for those guys to reach free agency and sign with the willing-to-pay bottom feeders.
What are the Blackhawks hoping happens when they’re ready to splurge? That Connor McDavid doesn’t see himself winning a Cup in Edmonton after next season? Or maybe Kirill Kaprizov actually wants to test the market next offseason?
If Marner and Bennett were pipe dreams, I can’t even begin to try to classify McDavid and Kaprizov. And it’s very possible those two make this point moot by signing extensions in the very near future, too.
GO DEEPER: Jay & Mario preview free agency one last time before it opens today.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: The CHGO Blackhawks Podcast will be live at 11 a.m. for the start of the free agency frenzy.
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No place is better on the Fourth of July than the bleachers at the Friendly Confines. Join Cody Delmendo and CHGO Diehards for a pivotal series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals THIS FRIDAY. The party starts at 10 a.m. at Murphy’s Bleachers.
OLD FRIEND ALERT: Brent Seabrook is finally joining the NHL coaching ranks. The Calgary Flames announced that they’ve added the former Blackhawks defenseman to their player development staff.
Seabrook, 40, played 15 seasons with the Blackhawks, winning all three Cups with the team last decade. After retiring, Seabrook joined the WHL’s Vancouver Giants as an interim assistant coach before earning a permanent role as a player development coach.
LOVE ME TENDER: The Blackhawks tendered qualifying offers to restricted free agent defensemen Wyatt Kaiser and Louis Crevier, and goaltender Arvid Soderblom. The club did not tender an offer to Philipp Kurashev, making the winger who scored 54 points two seasons ago an unrestricted free agent.
THREE FOR TRE: Tre Jones is returning to the Bulls on a three-year deal worth $24 million. Jones, 25, joined the Bulls as part of the return for Zach LaVine ahead of last season’s trade deadline.
It’s another –shockingly– solid move for the Bulls’ front office. Credit where credit’s due, but Jones is a capable starter and a genuinely strong bench option at point guard, and $8 million is terrific value for that type of player.
But it also means the logjam at guard is still a very real issue for the Bulls. So, what does this mean for Coby White and Ayo Dosumnu on the trade block? I suppose only time will tell.
ERRORS & OMISSIONS: I mentioned in yesterday’s newsletter that Patrick Williams and Isaac Okoro were drafted back-to-back in the 2021 NBA Draft. However, they were taken fourth and fifth overall in 2020, not 2021.
Kyle Tucker and the fellas enjoying an off day in the greatest city in the world.
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10:09 PM • Jun 30, 2025
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