3 teams that should trade for Marc-Andre Fleury before the deadlineVincent Pariseon January 21, 2022 at 1:00 pm

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – NOVEMBER 09: Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Chicago Blackhawks minds the net against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the United Center on November 09, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. The Blackhawks defeated the Penguins 3-2 in a shootout. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
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(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

The Chicago Blackhawks are on a decent streak where they have taken the last nine of the possible ten points available to them. A lot of that has been thanks to Marc-Andre Fleury who is still looking like one of the best goalies in the National Hockey League.

The Chicago Blackhawks have been a bad team this year and it would be even worst without Fleury. He currently has a record of 13-11-3 with three shutouts. However, he has a 2.69 ERA and a .916 save percentage which are great statistics.

That is an okay record with outstanding stats but it isn’t a record that he is used to from his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vegas Golden Knights. Most of his career with those teams was spent believing that he has a chance to win the Stanley Cup. That is not the case with these Hawks.

Fleury has never missed the playoffs in his Hall of Fame NHL career. That incredible streak is in jeopardy right now as the Hawks are for sure not going to the postseason. They are well out of a playoff spot right now and have played more games than most of the teams ahead of them. Jumping that many teams with fewer games to play is extremely difficult.

The Chicago Blackhawks would be really smart to trade Marc-Andre Fleury.

Not only would it be good for the Blackhawks organization to trade Fleury away, but It would also be a good sign of respect to him and his incredible career. These are the three teams that should strongly consider his services:

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3 teams that should trade for Marc-Andre Fleury before the deadlineVincent Pariseon January 21, 2022 at 1:00 pm Read More »

Three things to watch in Chicago Blackhawks vs Wild this weekendRyan Sikeson January 21, 2022 at 12:00 pm

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – OCTOBER 09: Jonathan Toews #19 of the Chicago Blackhawks celebrates his second goal of the night with teammates including (L-R) Patrick Kane #88, Alex DeBrincat #12 and Seth Jones #4 against the Minnesota Wild during a preseason game at the United Center on October 09, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. The Blackhawks defeated the Wild 5-1. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

The Chicago Blackhawks begin a home and home back-to-back series with the Minnesota Wild on Friday and wrapping up on Saturday.

Tale of the Tape

Power-play:

CHI: 18.8% (18th)

MIN: 17.0% (24th)

Penalty Kill:

CHI: 76.3% (26th)

MIN: 79.8% (16th)

Faceoffs:

CHI: 49.2% (20th)

MIN: 48.3% (23rd)

Goals per game:

CHI: 2.36 (29th)

MIN: 3.66 (3rd)

Goals against per game:

CHI: 3.21 (22nd)

MIN: 3.03 (19th)

Top scorers:

CHI: Patrick Kane – 9 goals, 26 assists, 35 points

MIN: Kirill Kaprizov – 16 goals, 28 assists, 44 points

Here are three things to keep an eye on in the Chicago Blackhawks versus Minnesota Wild game this weekend:

1. Response to a disappointing loss in Seattle

The Blackhawks saw their four-game winning streak come to an end on Monday, while Seattle snapped their nine-game losing streak in the team’s 3-2 shootout victory.

Originally planned to play a back-to-back with Edmonton the following night, the second leg was postponed. Hence, Chicago has been idle and left with the feeling of that shootout loss to a bad Seattle team.

“We were sloppy,” interim coach Derek King said via the Chicago Suntimes. “We had moments where we looked good, but then there were moments where we were tired. The travel was a little bit crazy for us. We’ll have to get these guys plenty of rest.”

The Blackhawks should have plenty of rest to gear up for a really talented Minnesota Wild group, one that has outscored their opponents 60-40 in the opening period, including 28-22 on the road.

2. Seth Jones is back for the Blackhawks

The Hawks will be getting a key member back into their lineup on Friday, as defenseman Seth Jones was removed from COVID protocol on Tuesday. The 27-year-old missed four games with the virus.

Seth Jones, head athletic trainer Mike Gapski and head equipment manager Troy Parchman have been removed from COVID-19 protocol.

Jakub Galvas, Mike Hardman, Cale Morris and Josiah Slavin re-assigned to AHL’s Rockford IceHogs. #Blackhawks

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 18, 2022

Chicago appeared to get by without Jones in the first three games, but they sorely missed his presence against Seattle.

The former Columbus Blue Jacket is just three points shy of matching last year’s point total (28), although he hasn’t put up monster numbers against Minnesota over his career. In 19 games, Jones has two goals and seven points with a -2 against the Wild.

3. Facing Kirill Kaprizov for the first time

It’s hard to imagine that this is the first time the Blackhawks will see their division rivals and Kirill Kaprizov this season. With the re-aligned divisions last year, Chicago was fortunate to miss out on being on a highlight reel during Kaprizov’s Calder Trophy-winning season.

Behind 27 goals and 51 points, the Russian forward took home 99 first-place votes for the award. There was some speculation about whether he would return to the Wild this year with a reportedly handsome offer in hand from the KHL.

However, Kaprizov is back in Minnesota this season and looks poised to shatter last year’s point total. Through 34 games, he has 16 goals and 28 points, pacing all Wild skaters with 44 points. Kaprizov was electric on the power-play last season, tallying eight goals.

Love Kirill Kaprizov celebrating with the Minnesota fan in Colorado after tying the game pic.twitter.com/vFUOuXedzk

— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) January 17, 2022

While he only has two goals on the man advantage this season, he’s been dynamite in 5-on-5 situations.

Kaprizov has two games under his belt since returning from the injured reserve with a lower-body injury. All he’s done is put up four points in those two games.

Trending:Only one Chicago Blackhawks player made the All-Star Game

He will be a significant threat for the Blackhawks to contain not only on Friday but in Minnesota on Saturday.

The Blackhawks and Wild get underway from the United Center at 7:30 pm CT on Friday.

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Bears interview former Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie

The Bears interviewed former Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie for that same position Thursday.

McKenzie has been a senior personnel executive for the Dolphins under general manager Chris Grier for the last three seasons.

McKenzie was an NFL linebacker from 1985 through ’92 before getting his start in personnel as an assistant with the Packers in 1994. He ascended throughout his 18 seasons with the Packers before getting the job as Raiders general manager in 2012.

Over McKenzie’s seven seasons, the Raiders went 40-72 (fourth-worst in the NFL over that span) and appeared in just one playoff game (a loss after going 12-4 in 2016). One of his best moves was drafting pass rusher Khalil Mack No. 5 overall in 2014, but coach Jon Gruden assumed authority on personnel when he took the job in 2018 and he traded Mack to the Bears for two first-round picks.

The Bears also interviewed Buccaneers quarterback Byron Leftwich for their head-coaching vacancy Thursday.

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Bears interview Buccaneers OC and longtime NFL QB Byron Leftwich

The Bears are slowly working through their long list of head-coaching candidates and interviewed Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich on Thursday.

Leftwich, 42, is one of coaching’s rising stars. After nine seasons as a quarterback, most notably for the Jaguars, he began his coaching career as an intern with the Cardinals in 2016. He became their quarterbacks after just one season and took over as offensive coordinator in 2018 before joining the Buccaneers in that role when they hired Bruce Arians in 2019.

The Buccaneers have been top-three in scoring all three seasons with Leftwich as offensive coordinator, including 2019 when Jameis Winston was their quarterback. The team signed future Hall of Famer Tom Brady in 2020 and won a Super Bowl.

The Buccaneers are among the favorites to reach the Super Bowl again this season and host the Rams in the divisional round Sunday. The Bears also plan to interview defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.

The Bears also interviewed former Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie for that vacancy Thursday.

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