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Chicago Blackhawks: Nashville for two could turn season aroundon January 26, 2021 at 1:00 pm

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - NOVEMBER 16: David Kampf #64 of the Chicago Blackhawks carries the puck away from Filip Forsberg #9 of the Nashville Predators during the second period at Bridgestone Arena on November 16, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – NOVEMBER 16: David Kampf #64 of the Chicago Blackhawks carries the puck away from Filip Forsberg #9 of the Nashville Predators during the second period at Bridgestone Arena on November 16, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)

The Chicago Blackhawks finally have a couple of wins under their belt. They swept a home weekend series with the Detroit Red Wings. The Wings aren’t much better than Chicago on paper but they had a much better start to the season so it was an impressive homestand. They still might not be a playoff team or anything like that but now have something to build on. After four straight games of giving up five goals, it was nice to see them get some wins the right way.

The Chicago Blackhawks are headed south to play the Nashville Predators.

The Nashville Predators are a much different animal than the Detroit Red Wings. They are a much better and deeper team but they aren’t the Cup contender that they once were. They still have an outside chance to figure some things out and be a playoff team but they are beatable. Whether or not they are beatable for the Blackhawks remains to be seen.

Of course, the strength of the Predators has been their strength for over a decade and that is goaltending and defense. Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros make up their tandem. They have both been excellent in their careers but have had a rough start to the season. If they figure it out as they have in the past, especially Rinne, they will be a goaltending force to be reckoned with.

In front of them remains a very strong defense. Guys like Shea Weber and P.K. Subban are gone but they have an excellent trio at the top of their defensive core. Roman Josi is one of the best defensemen in the NHL and the NHL’s reigning Norris Trophy winner. He has been a top-five Norris Trophy vote-getter three times and a top 11 guy six times. We are truly talking about one of the best defensemen of his era.

Right behind him are Ryan Ellis and Mattias Ekholm. They are both great and prove that Nashville is just a defensemen factory. If you are a defenseman that is drafted by Nashville, you should be thrilled because they are going to help you reach the next level.

Beating them will rely on the forwards of the Chicago Blackhawks. They are going to have to work Nashville’s defense and force them back. Guys like Patrick Kane can do that but the rest of the team is going to need to follow suit. There is some good forwards upfront for Nashville as well so the Blackhawks need to be strong on the pucks, use their speed.

As mentioned before, they are a good team but they aren’t the best team. If the Blackhawks were able to play well against them it could provide a big boost going forward. They are already behind the 8-ball as Alex DeBrincat and Adam Boqvist have been placed on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list.

Hot: It is time for the Blackhawks to consider trading Patrick Kane

DeBrincat is a huge loss for Chicago and they are going to have to figure out who will take Boqvist’s spot. This could be a thing that lasts a few days or it could go longer. We have seen examples of each across the NHL. If they are able to rally around each other and win, that could be the spark they need to not be the worst team in the league.

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Chicago Blackhawks: Nashville for two could turn season aroundon January 26, 2021 at 1:00 pm Read More »

Chicago White Sox: Upgrading the DH spot may have to waiton January 26, 2021 at 2:00 pm

Chicago White Sox - Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Chicago White Sox – Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

We are less than a month away from spring training. The Chicago White Sox general manager Rick Hahn made it known that he wanted to upgrade three key areas this offseason — right field, the starting rotation and DH.

The Chicago White Sox filled their right field spot by bringing back Adam Eaton. Eaton has seen his batting average drop from just shy of .300 to .279 and to a measly .226 last season. The team is hoping they brought back the Eaton of old, but who knows.

To help strengthen the starting pitching, the Chicago White Sox traded for Lance Lynn. Lynn will be on the final year of his contract, but that did not stop them from trading for the right-hander who finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting in 2020 and fifth the year before that. Not starting pitching, but the team also added arguably the top free-agent closer available, Liam Hendricks as an upgrade over Alex Colome.

The Chicago White Sox may have to wait a while as DHs wait to hear NL news

The top DH free agent on the market is Nelson Cruz, but the White Sox may have to wait to target him. Cruz is 40 years old but still has been dominant over the last few years. In his 2019 season, he finished with a WAR of 4.3. He finished the year with 41 HR and hit .311 with an OPS of 1.031. Stealing Cruz away from the Twins would be fantastic, but the Twins are not going silently.

After Cruz would be Marcell Ozuna. Ozuna is not as old (30), but also has not been as good either. That said, Ozuna still finished with MVP-type numbers in the shortened 2020 season. He hit 18 HR, 56 RBI and finished with a .338 and 1.067 OPS. Ozuna is going to want a longer-term deal though than Cruz and that might scare off the White Sox.

Some other names in the running would be bringing back Edwin Encarnacion or signing one of these other free-agent DHs.

Next: Chicago White Sox: Does Mark Buehrle deserve the Hall?

It would be absolutely amazing if the Chicago White Sox could land either of the top DHs, but the team might need to wait a while before convincing someone to sign. It seems that many of the free agents are waiting to see if the NL will continue using the DH position as it had in 2020. If the DH position becomes universal, this means that another half of the MLB opens up as possible landing spots — this could mean more money, more years and/or a better fit.

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Chicago White Sox: Upgrading the DH spot may have to waiton January 26, 2021 at 2:00 pm Read More »

Chicago Cubs: Three Bryant, Hendricks trade packages with Blue Jayson January 26, 2021 at 12:00 pm

PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 23: Kyle Hendricks #28 of the Chicago Cubs delivers a pitch in the first inning during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on September 23, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 23: Kyle Hendricks #28 of the Chicago Cubs delivers a pitch in the first inning during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on September 23, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
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Chicago Cubs, David Ross

Chicago Cubs (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

The Chicago Cubs are going through it right now.

They made a surprise run to the NLCS in 2015 after winning 97 games and that let Major League Baseball know that they are coming. Well, in 2016, they won the World Series for the first time in 108 years. It was the greatest moment in the history of the team. Unfortunately for them, since then they have fallen off very hard. Now, they might be looking to trade two of the most important players in the history of the franchise.

The Chicago Cubs will be even worse than we thought if they make this move.

There are rumors out there that the Chicago Cubs are down to the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays for Kris Bryant. There were rumors prior to this that Toronto has talked to Chicago about a package involving both Bryant and Kyle Hendricks. We have already discussed the possible trade packages that it would take to get a deal done with the New York Mets. Now, it is fair to wonder what would happen if the Jays acquired him.

The Blue Jays are an up and coming team. They have a lot of great players and have been big players in free agency this winter. If they made a trade like this and didn’t give up any roster players they would probably be looked at as World Series contenders. With the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays in the division, it would be so fun to watch but they would certainly be considered contenders. These are three trades that the Cubs could make with Toronto for Kris Bryant and Kyle Hendricks:

Next: Trade One

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Chicago Cubs: Three Bryant, Hendricks trade packages with Blue Jayson January 26, 2021 at 12:00 pm Read More »