What’s New

One division rival got just a bit better on Monday as Andrew McCutchen is going to the Milwaukee Brewers. This is a big move for them as they add some depth to their outfield in search of another division title. McCutchen is looking to end his career on a good team in the playoffs.

He knows what it takes to play in the NL Central Division as he became a star with the Pittsburgh Pirates. They were actually really good while he was there too so Cubs fans know him well. It will be interesting to see what he can bring to the Brew Crew in 2022.

The Chicago Cubs are going to have Andrew McCutchen in the division again.

In between Pittsburgh and Milwaukee, he made stops with the San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, and Philadelphia Phillies. He certainly isn’t the player that he was with the Pirates but he can bring a lot to this Brewers team looking to get over the edge.

Milwaukee dominated their way to the postseason in 2021 thanks to one of the best pitching staff in Major League Baseball. Their lack of offense, however, proved to be too much of weakness by the time the playoffs rolled around. Now, they are hoping that McCutchen can be just another solid hitter in their group.

Watching the Cubs and Brewers duke it out this year is going to be so fun. The Cincinnati Reds are selling off all their best players right now so it will come down to those two and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs are probably in a distant third but the extra playoff team gives them a fighting chance. Either way, it is good to be talking baseball.

He claims that the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks have talked about it which is incredibly interesting to note. He also brought up the Colorado Avalanche but the conversation surrounded the Rangers. That sent Twitter into an uproar.

Of course, Blackhawks fans don’t want to see it because he is the greatest player in team history. There is no doubt that trading him away would make the team significantly worse than it already is but it could lead to them getting better quicker.

The Chicago Blackhawks might actually be smart to move on from Patrick Kane.

The Hawks have a Hall of Famer in his prime playing at a high level to trade away and it would be more than just a rental as of this deadline. Whoever acquired Kane this year (if he were traded) would be getting him this year and all of next year based on his contract. Then it would be up to them to extend him beyond that.

The Blackhawks would land so much in a trade like this. First-round picks in this year’s draft (the Hawks don’t even have their own pick) or next year’s draft would be involved, Alexis Lafreniere could be involved, guys like Kaapo Kakko and K’Andre Miller could be in the mix, and a bunch of other assets that could help the team rebuild.

Ask yourself, are the Blackhawks ever going to win the Stanley Cup with Patrick Kane again? The answer is a hard no so why not rebuild while your best asset is at its highest worth. It would be nice to see this team start to win again no matter what.

As for Kane, he deserves to play in the playoffs. He is one of the 50 greatest NHL players of all time so seeing him in his prime on the biggest stage would be nice. He would be reunited with Artemi Panarin in New York if this trade ever went down which would also be tremendous theatre. Hopefully, regardless of what happens, the Hawks are a better team for it.

The only huge signing, as it stands, is defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi — who fits this new 4-3 defense perfectly as the 3-technique. Ogunjobi agreed to a 3-year deal worth $40.5 million, making him the 9th highest-paid defensive tackle in football.

But, while other teams continue to spend, Poles has been cool, calm and collected while allowing his peers to empty their checkbooks. And, when looking at the grand scheme of things, Poles just might be onto something.

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles could be onto something many fans aren’t thinking about during NFL free agency.

It’s been obvious that Poles is being patient. He’s went on record with his purpose during this week, and that’s to stick to his price point. He will not overpay for a player if their price tag is higher than what he has them valued.

For once, it’s refreshing to hear such transparency. The Bears are going to be set up nicely for free agency in 2023 (roughly $140 million in cap space before 2022 free agency began). But, Poles could be thinking even deeper. NFL insider Benjamin Allbright brings up a great point about Poles’ possible mindset in his first year.

As a former lineman himself, Poles is definitely going to build the trenches. That has to be priority on both sides of the football, not just on offense.

But, when it comes to other positions, he very well could stick to those short-term deals that would result in the Bears getting awarded several compensatory picks in the 2023 NFL Draft.

That, folks, is forward thinking.

Poles has understood, from the beginning, that the Bears are not set up to compete in 2022. This roster needed an overhaul, and he needed additional capital, thus he traded Khalil Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers.

It may have seemed like there were far too many players taken off the board on Day 1, but the Bears still have a ton of options at key positions of need.

If Poles wants to stick to his plan, a good amount of these players could be headed to Chicago now that some of the larger contracts have been handed out. Just which players, specifically, are still available in the free agent pool?

Ryan Poles and the Chicago Bears have plenty of free agent options left on Day 2.

We’re not going to look at every single remaining free agent, but here are some that should be highlighted when looking at the Bears’ current needs.

Wide Receiver

JuJu Smith-Schuster

Marquez Valdes-Scantling

Jarvis Landry

Russell Gage

For a while there, the Bruins looked like a lock to be a Wild Card team in the Eastern Conference but their recent hot play has been taking advantage of the slumping Toronto Maple Leafs so this game could shift the standings around a lot.

It is a big game for a lot of people. For one, Nick Foligno is going to play in his 1000th game tonight. He is the first Bruins player to reach that milestone since Patrice Bergeron did it in 2019.

The cool thing about this is that Nick and his father Mike Foligno are only the second father/son duo to each reach this milestone. The first is Chicago Blackhawks legend Bobby Hull and his son Brett Hull. Everyone involved here should be incredibly proud.

There is a lot to know about Chicago Blackhawks vs Boston Bruins on Tuesday.

Lately, Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome have joined Kane as the hottest players on the team. Marc-Andre Fleury will be in the net for Chicago as they try to slow down the Bruins as they quest for a division playoff spot.

For Boston, fans might remember Tuukka Rask being in their net for all these years. Well, he called it a career following some injury trouble earlier this year. Jeremy Swayman has been the mainstay for them but the Hawks will see Linus Ullmark tonight.

When it comes to Boston’s skaters, there are some elite ones. Their captain Patrice Bergeron leads a group with Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, Taylor Hall, Charlie Coyle, Craig Smith, and Erik Haula who have all been great at different points this season.

Brad Marchand only has three goals in his last 18 games which is incredibly rare for him. He is still racking up points but he definitely wants to end that scoring slump. Look for him to come out on fire in this game.

No matter where they are in the standings, Original Six matchups in the NHL are always fun. This is a match loaded with talent on both sides. One team needs the two points desperately and the other just wants to finish the season feeling good going into the summer. Expect to be entertained.

Beyond Kirk’s deal, Jacksonville signed a few other guys but made sure to add a lot of talent around Trevor Lawrence, bringing in Evan Engram and Zay Jones as additional weapons for their second-year quarterback.

Because Jacksonville signed Kirk and Jones, the latest rumor now has the team moving on from young wide receiver Laviska Shenault, who is just entering his third year as a pro after being the 42nd overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Chicago Bears played it cool when free agency began, but a trade for Laviska Shenault could certainly help their cause.

We saw several wide receivers go off the board on Day 1, with a few like JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling still available. But, a player like Shenault would be an interesting add for the Bears.

Poles was clearly going to be patient and not go above his price point on any player during the first huge day of free agency. He’s focused on building this thing the right way, especially when looking at next year. The Bears might have the most cap space out of any NFL franchise in 2023, so they’ll play the slow game under Poles.

Back to Shenault, who would be an exciting, young weapon that fits exactly what Matt Eberflus wants in his incoming players. Eberflus wants quick, speedy guys who can run — and Shenault fits that profile.

Shenault is a quick-footed offensive weapon who can line up in the back field or the slot. He’s perfect for a young quarterback like Justin Fields, who needs to work on getting the ball out quicker. Shenault does a great job getting himself open in a hurry, and Fields’ development would accelerate because of a player like that.

Over two years, Shenault has absorbed 179 targets and he hasn’t even been the number one guy. He’s just someone an offense can get the ball to quickly, and he’ll look to make moves down field to gain additional yardage.

In his first two seasons as a pro, Shenault has caught 121 passes for 1,219 yards and five touchdowns. Those numbers hardly matter, though, as he’s been in one of the league’s most abysmal offenses. Coming to Chicago, where the Bears are looking to revamp their offense and modernize it a bit, Shenault could end up being a big part of it.

Ogunjobi will come in and play the extremely important 3-technique in Matt Eberflus’ 4-3 defense. For those who need more context, think of Ogunjobi being the Tommie Harris of this defense.

The Bears’ deal with Ogunjobi is a 3-year contract worth $40.5 million which, on the surface, looks like a lot of money. However, looking a little deeper at this deal, one can see that it isn’t all that bad.

The Chicago Bears did not overpay for free agent Larry Ogunjobi, and instead, may have received a value.

Let’s take a quick look at two defensive linemen the Bears will be losing this offseason who may have stepped in to play this 3-technique for Eberflus had they stuck around.

Akiem Hicks is is 32 years old and missed eight games due to injury last season. His most recent cap number was $12 million. Then, there’s Bilal Nichols, whose cap number last year was $2.25 million and he isn’t exactly cut out to play this particular position — neither of these guys are, actually.

Combine those contracts and you get $14.25 against the cap in 2021. Ogunjobi, on the other hand, is just 27 years old and coming off a career year. He is in the midst of his prime and should be at his very best over the next three seasons.

Ogunjobi’s contract pays him an average of $13.5 million per season — and that’s not even his concrete cap number. We’ll have to wait for the details to come later on, but his cap number could be even lower due to bonus configuration.

The Bears got the perfect player to play this position and are paying less than they would have been paying Hicks and Nichols. To snag a defensive tackle entering his prime, for less money than two guys who weren’t cut out for this position, is a huge win for Poles.

They also signed a player who will be healthy and available. Ogunjobi has only missed one game in each of the past three seasons.

He’s been more adamant that the Bears will be patient, waiting to add value through the second wave, while also sorting through his current roster, still.

On the first day of legal tampering, though, Poles did make a splash with his very first signing as general manager. The Bears agreed to terms with former Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi, who will come in as the team’s starting 3-technique in Matt Eberflus’ 4-3 defense.

By signing Larry Ogunjobi, Ryan Poles and the Chicago Bears went against the grain of the majority’s expectations.

A defensive tackle was not the expected first signing by the Bears, no matter who you asked. Most would have assumed Poles to go hard after some offensive linemen, maybe a cornerback, and of course a wide receiver.

Instead, we saw several players at those positions head elsewhere within the first few hours. The Bears, meanwhile, signed Ogunjobi to a 3-year deal worth $40.5 million — a hefty chunk of change, making him the 9th highest-paid defensive tackle in the league.

While the majority assumed Poles would start filling other holes, he went the other way and stuck to his guns. Several rumors and whispers suggest that Poles has been sticking to his price limit on many free agents and refusing to overpay.

Ogunjobi, though, was worth paying for. That all-important 3-technique is a key position in Eberflus’ defense, and it had to be filled after the team allowed Eddie Goldman and Akiem Hicks to go free. Think of Ogunjobi being Eberflus’ version of a young Tommie Harris.

For those unfamiliar, Ogunjobi is still just 27 years old and is coming off a career year. As an interior lineman, Ogunjobi represents the polar opposite of what Goldman could do. You’re looking at a strong, athletic interior lineman who can rush the passer and wreak havoc in back fields.

As Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times pointed out via his Twitter,the Bengals’ run defense improved from 29th to fifth last year in yards per game and from 31st to 13th in yards per attempt. Of course, Trey Hendrickson had a hand in this, too. But, between the two of them, this Cincy defense took off.