Bobby Hull? Stan Mikita? Jonathan Toews?
Who’s the greatest Blackhawks player of them all?
Or is it someone else? Someone by the name of Patrick Kane, who — you’re not going to believe it — now skates for some team in New York?
In this week’s “Polling Place,” your home for Sun-Times sports polls on Twitter, we asked if ol’ No. 88 is No. 1. Only one in 10 respondents said no, though plenty of commenters took up for other Hawks.
“I’m Team Toews 100%,” @Cephaloctopus wrote. “[Kane] won all the awards, too, but ‘Cap’ has led the Blackhawks off the ice as well.”
“Mikita is what makes this a tough call today,” @semiamagain offered.
And from @annnakowal, “I’d say he’s one of the best, but not THE best.”
We also wanted to know — or did we? — how interested you are in the Fire, whose season begins Saturday against New York City FC at Soldier Field. The results of that poll, in a word: Oof.
Finally, we asked who’s winning the World Baseball Classic. Team USA is, no surprise, among the favorites.
On to the polls:
Poll No. 1: Is Patrick Kane the greatest Blackhawks player ever?
It’s time for this week’s “Polling Place.” Let us hear from you! Selected comments will appear in Saturday's paper.
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) March 2, 2023
Q1: Is Patrick Kane the greatest Blackhawks player ever?
Upshot: Hull can still be found in the top 10 in some rankings of the greatest NHL players of all time, and lots of folks get to Hull only after Mikita. Did Kane really distinguish himself — on the ice — more than Stosh and the Golden Jet? Also, we should at least give a courtesy nod to some former Hawks we’ve yet to mention: Tony Esposito, Glenn Hall, Denis Savard, Pierre Pilote, Marian Hossa … come on, that more than covers it.
Poll No. 2: The Fire’s season starts Saturday. How interested are you in this team?
Q2: The Fire’s season starts Saturday. How interested are you in this team?
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) March 2, 2023
Upshot: Look, we already “oofed” once. The reality is that sports fans get behind winners. We saw it with the Sky. We saw it five years ago when Loyola went to the Final Four. The Fire have to get to the playoffs and make all kinds of noise, and then — and probably only then — fan interest will surge.
Poll No. 3: Who’s your pick to win the World Baseball Classic?
Q3: Who’s your pick to win the World Baseball Classic?
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) March 2, 2023
Upshot: The betting favorites are, in order, the Dominican Republic followed closely by the U.S. and Japan. Any other champion — Venezuela, Puerto Rico, South Korea, you name it — would be a big surprise.
