Kyle Davidson has his work cut out for him. All the new Blackhawks general manager — “interim,” schminterim — must do is take an organization looking up at its championship past from the bottom of a ravine and somehow make it great again. What could go wrong?
In this week’s “Polling Place” — your home for Sun-Times sports polls on Twitter — we asked how confident you are that this rebuild will be a success. “Cautiously optimistic” might be the very nicest way to describe the voting results.
“He has a real tough task,” @TopShelfSports0 commented. “[Predecessor] Stan Bowman sold the farm and committed him to some big contracts. He’s going to have to maximize his moves. It’s going to take probably five years.”
We also asked about Big Ten basketball and the postseason and — come on, guys — what the Bulls’ biggest problem is when they run up against top opponents.
“Health is definitely a great reason they have struggled,” @KurtisArndt wrote, “but I think size might be the underlying issue. When healthy, this squad is incredible.”
On to the polls:
Poll No. 1: How confident are you that the Blackhawks rebuild led by new GM Kyle Davidson will be a success?
Time again for our weekly “Polling Place” questions. Let us hear from you! Selected comments will appear in Saturday's paper.
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) March 3, 2022
Q1: How confident are you that the Blackhawks rebuild led by new GM Kyle Davidson will be a success?
Upshot: Nearly all the Hawks’ Stanley Cup winners are long gone. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews remain, but does that even make sense? And for how long? There’s so much Davidson and his staff have yet to even begin to work toward. “If he sticks with rebuilding, he will be successful,” @DadsThumb offered. “But success doesn’t guarantee a Cup.” That’s a fact, jack.
Poll No. 2: Which Big Ten basketball team will have the most postseason success?
Q2: Which Big Ten basketball team will have the most postseason success?
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) March 3, 2022
Upshot: The Illini have guards who can really heat up from deep, a strong defensive mindset and — oh, yeah — one-of-a-kind Kofi Cockburn manning the middle. The Boilermakers have great size and depth and an off-the-charts athlete in Jaden Ivey. The Badgers? They’re merely regular-season champs who win each and every close game. It’s hard to choose, but one thing we know: 2000 remains the year of the league’s last national title.
Poll No. 3: What’s the biggest reason the Bulls struggle so much against top competition?
Q3: What’s the biggest reason the Bulls struggle so much against top competition?
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) March 3, 2022
Upshot: As you can see, three in five respondents are pointing to the prolonged absences of Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso and Patrick Williams. If the Bulls were fully stocked, would things really end differently against the 76ers, Heat, Warriors and the rest of the best? It’s certainly a most forgiving way to look at it. “Poor Bulls fans,” @MJA773 wrote. “They’re never gonna learn.”
