👋 Good morning!

And good news, Bears fans.

Chatting with ESPN 1000’s Kap & J.Hood yesterday morning, Ryan Poles reiterated the importance of getting a Joe Thuney extension across the finish line:

“I would hope it’s not too long. As I said the other day, it’s a priority.”

Poles added later: “Love Joe. Love what he brings. I know he’s excited to be here, so we’ll see if we can work something out in the near future.”

– Patrick Norton

Blackhawks’ Option C

The Blackhawks need to nail their head coach hiring, but the top two candidates are off the table. Can the Blackhawks still salvage this hiring cycle?

• Option A: Last Saturday, University of Denver head coach David Carle reportedly withdrew his name from consideration for the Blackhawks’ job. It’s unclear whether Carle will consider other jobs around the league.
   

• Option B: Mike Sullivan, who became the ideal hire for the Blackhawks when he parted ways with the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier in the week, is zeroing in on a deal to become the head coach of the New York Rangers, per several reports.
   
  John Tortorella is also expected to join the Rangers’ staff. That ought to be fun.
   

• Who’s Left? Should the Blackhawks opt for an NHL retread, I like Rich Tocchet, Dan Bylsma, and Jay Woodcroft in that order. If the Blackhawks would prefer new blood, keep an eye on Tampa Bay Lightning assistant coach Jeff Halpern.

Tocchet’s old-school approach is something the Blackhawks could probably use a bit of right now. But his locker room in Vancouver fell apart this past season, and as a result, Tocchet took the fall.

Bylsma’s forte is his ability to develop talent, which would fit the Blackhawks in their current youthful state. Woodcroft probably didn’t deserve the axe in Edmonton two seasons ago, but they’ve been undeniably better under Kris Knoblauch’s leadership.

That’s the thing about retreads: they’re retreads for a reason. Then again, the last retread that the Blackhawks hired led them to three Stanley Cup championships and is second all-time in coaching victories in league history.

Then there’s Halpern, a former NHLer and long-time assistant, who’s been on the Lightning bench since 2018.

Here’s where it gets interesting with him: Head coach Jon Cooper’s future in Tampa is strangely just as uncertain as Halpern’s, but my guess is that one will be the bench boss down there next season.

Cooper reportedly signed a one-year extension to keep him in Tampa through 2026, but there are rumblings that he could be swayed to leave if a certain situation elsewhere catches his eye. It also sounds like Utah might be able to provide exactly that with a bump in rank to president of hockey operations.

If Cooper leaves Tampa, it makes sense that Halpern would be the leading candidate there, where he has tremendous familiarity with the organization.

All this means is that while GM Kyle Davidson said that he hoped for a quicker process in hiring a coach this time around, we could be looking at an early-June timetable as the coaching landscape gets sorted throughout the league.

What frustrates me just a little is that I can’t figure out why an Original Six franchise with a rising superstar and promising prospect base is having trouble luring a top-notch candidate.

Why is Carle still in the mix for Anaheim’s opening? Why did Sullivan feel like a long shot within 12 hours of his departure from Pittsburgh?

GO DEEPER: The CHGO Blackhawks podcast discussed the coaching search and Cooper’s theoretical candidacy.

Quick Hits

Paul Skenes Who? Just how good was the Cubs’ performance in Thursday’s rubber match against the Pirates’ ace? In 5 IP, Skenes struck out just two Cubs batters (career-low) while walking four (tied-most in career start). The three home runs Skenes allowed in the fifth inning were also the most allowed by the 22-year-old phenom in a start.

City Connect: Tonight’s the night! The White Sox will debut their City Connect 2.0 jersey collaboration with the Bulls against the Astros at Rate Field tonight, championship collar and all! I’m very interested in seeing how they look on the diamond.

Today!

📺 CHGO Bears
12:00 on YouTube

📺 CHGO Blackhawks
2:00 on YouTube

📺 CHGO Bulls
4:00 on YouTube

⚾️ White Sox vs. Astros
6:40 on CHSN

⚾️ Cubs @ Brewers
7:10 on Apple TV+

Talk to you next week!