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Gone South: Reflections on Trump’s post-presidencyon January 21, 2021 at 4:34 pm

The Quark In The Road

Gone South: Reflections on Trump’s post-presidency

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Chicago Blackhawks: It is time to consider trading Patrick Kaneon January 21, 2021 at 2:54 pm

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

It is time for the Chicago Blackhawks to consider trading Patrick Kane.

The Chicago Blackhawks are an extremely lousy hockey team. Without Jonathan Toews and Kirby Dach in the lineup, it is one of the worst rosters in the history of the organization. They have a top-ten NHL forward, a few very good players, and the rest is a dumpster fire. The goaltending is the worst in the NHL and their team defense in front of them doesn’t help. For that reason, it might be time to think about trading Patrick Kane.

Let me be very clear about something, I believe that Patrick Kane is the best player in the history of the Chicago Blackhawks. He hasn’t yet reached the point totals of Bobby Hull or Stan Mikita yet but it is possible that he does if he finishes his career healthy. However, the fact that he does have over 1000 points and three championships amongst many other prestigious individual awards, he has to be considered the top guy. His number 88 will be retired, he will walk into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot, and they might even build him a statue in Chicago.

With a decorated resume like that, he is naturally a fan favorite. He should be because of the accomplishments but also because of the way he plays. He is as fun to watch play hockey as any player ever. He uses great hands, vision, and hockey sense to make incredible plays in the offensive zone. His transition game is second to none and most of the points (goals or assists) are of the “spectacular” variety.

Because he has all of these things attached to his hockey name, trading him wouldn’t go over well with the fanbase. However, it needs to be done at this point. He has three years (including this season that they are currently in) left on his contract at 10.5 million. A contending team getting a player like Kane for 2.5 seasons is very valuable. He has a hefty cap hit but the Hawks might get even more in return if they retained some salary.

They really don’t have cap trouble like they once did and it doesn’t even really matter right now anyway. They need to rebuild this thing from the ground up and nothing would kick start that better than by trading Kane. The return he would bring the Hawks is second to none. We could be talking top prospects, high draft picks, or a combination of both.

There is no rumor or anything like that but it is clear to me that trading him is the best course of action for the future of this franchise. It is also fair to him to give him a chance to win again while he is still an elite player. He has a lot of good hockey left in him so they should trade him while his value is at his highest.

Related Story: Chicago Blackhawks take one point out of eight on Florida trip

He is being wasted away on this team now. He has played very well so far and other teams will take full note of that. With each passing year, his value goes down a little bit and makes it harder to get as big of a haul as possible. If they are ever going to do it, they need to do it before the return is insignificant. It can be a big difference for their rebuild.

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Chicago Bears fans’ eyes should be glued to Senior Bowlon January 21, 2021 at 12:00 pm

Chicago Bears (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Chicago Bears (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

We are inside 100 days until the NFL Draft and the Chicago Bears main objective is to come away with a franchise quarterback. We have documented the difficulty in doing that with the No. 20 overall pick in April — a byproduct of a few late season wins against the league’s worst teams. But fans should be laser focused on the upcoming Reese’s Senior Bowl and Mac Jones.

Absent a trade for Deshaun Watson (which seems highly unlikely) or a trade up into the top five of the draft (not quite as unlikely but a challenge nonetheless), it appears the Bears will miss out on targets like Justin Fields and Zach Wilson.

They are likely to be outside the range of Trey Lance who will likely also require a trade up into the top 8-15. However, there is one quarterback who call be within reach at 20, and that is Alabama quarterback Mac Jones.

Jones is someone we have been touting as an intriguing candidate. The recent National Champion put together an unbelievable season, finishing with 4,500 passing yards, 41 touchdown passes and just four interceptions. He capped off this remarkable season with a 464 yard, five touchdown performance in the National Championship game against Ohio State.

Chicago Bears have a chance to get a good look at a potential draft option.

He’s more than just a quarterback to put up volume stats. The analytics back up the statement that he was one of the best performing quarterbacks in college this season. In fact, he broke the Pro Football Focus quarterback record for highest single-season grade.

It wasn’t that long ago that the Bears ignored a quarterback in the 2017 NFL Draft who shined on the big stage. It is safe to say the Watson gaffe is still a sore subject within Halas Hall and there won’t be a similar mistake made this time around.

If true, then you’d have to think Jones will get a lot of attention from the Bears’ front office. That should start at this month’s Senior Bowl where Jones has a huge opportunity to silence some of his critics.

One of the biggest question marks or criticisms of Jones has been that he has had the benefit of playing with superstars at Alabama. Many doubt whether he can replicate that success if he’s not surrounded by superior talent.

Well for starters, there weren’t many who held that same fact against Joe Burrow last year. Moreover, Jones accurate passing percentage since 2018 suggests that despite playing with talented players, he is throwing the ball on target and on time.

Nevertheless, with Jones announcing he will attend the Senior Bowl, he will have the chance to showcase his talents without the immense talent he had at Alabama. Consequently, all eyes should be on Jones. However, if he performs well, it could catapult him out of the Bears reach at No. 20.

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