Next Chicago Team To Win a Championship?

[UMFan83]

We used to run these polls occasionally. Chicago sports is in a dire spot right now, having only played in 1 playoff game in 2018 (WC Game) and 1 playoff game in 2019 (Double Doink). The last time the city won a playoff game was Game 4 of the 2017 NLCS. Maybe the question should be 'who is the next chicago team to make the playoffs?' but I'll stick with tradition.

 

Also I'm not including the White Sox.

 

Cubs - Still have the core pieces that could hypothetically return to being a juggernaut but work needs to be done to even get this team back into the playoffs. With the right offseason moves, they could be back in championship contention as soon as next year. But how confident are we in the right moves being made at this point?

 

Bears - No QB, no championship. Great defense, good skill pieces, questionable QB. Maybe we see a 'Dilfer with the Bucs' like run, or maybe Mitch makes a miraculous improvement

 

Bulls - Still in rebuilding mode. They have some pieces but in this environment its nearly impossible to build a championship contender without getting a superstar to agree to build a super team in your city. Since the Bulls have never really been the type of place superstars want to go to, its really hard to predict when they could become a title contender. I think it starts with drafting a superstar to raise the profile of the city/franchise and then you might be in the mix for a superteam.

 

Blackhawks - Might be the most likely next Chicago team to make the playoffs, but while they have some promise, their ceiling seems to be well short of a legit Cup contender. There are some nice young pieces, but the rest of the leftover dynasty core is getting older. Keith and Seabrook are no longer core guys...Kane is still great but getting into his 30's. Toews seems to have find a nice spot just below star caliber. No blue line depth at all. A lot of young wingers with promise.

[The_Achiever]

It's probably still the Cubs.

 

Bears potentially have a shot this year with that defense but I don't trust Mitch or Nagy.

 

I've always thought the Blackhawks might get one more but they've made so many terrible moves it seems unlikely.

 

Bulls are light years away.

[WrigleyField 22]

You forgot the Sky.

[Andy]

It might be the Cubs still, but I picked Blackhawks. I'm pretty sure the window's closing for the Cubs, and the Stanley Cup playoffs is the true Random Championship Generator, so the Hawks don't have to be great to win it.

[Brian707]

I voted Bears, because they will win it this February.

 

Cubs will be fine, Joe will be gone, I think that will help even with minimal offseason moves. 95 wins next year should ward off the Cards/Brewers/Reds

[d_money]

Why not the WS? The farm is loaded with positional and pitching talent. They have money to spend. They’ll do it by 2022.

 

It’s not the Hawks, Bears, Bulls.

[UMFan83]

Why not the WS? The farm is loaded with positional and pitching talent. They have money to spend. They’ll do it by 2022.

 

It’s not the Hawks, Bears, Bulls.

 

The Sox? I didn’t include them because I don’t care about them.

[Regular Show]

None of them have a good shot at a Championship (unless the Cubs do something really drastic this offseason and sign Rendon+ and make some good trades and hire a superb new manager).

 

Probably the most realistic choice for me is the Blackhawks. The hockey postseason is the ultimate crapshoot where upsets happen all the time.

 

They get one of the last spots, but peak at the right time -- Corey Crawford is locked-in and fully healthy, the young prospects like Kirby Dach are ahead of schedule, Toews and Kane are playing well...

 

It's either Blackhawks or Cubs for the next few years in my mind. Yeah, Bears need a legit QB and the Bulls are probably the furthest away.

[The SABR Gamer]

Why not the WS? The farm is loaded with positional and pitching talent. They have money to spend. They’ll do it by 2022.

 

It’s not the Hawks, Bears, Bulls.

 

I still think the Cubs are better off because they aren't owned by Reinsdorf, but the Sox do have some very good pieces and lots of payroll flexibility. Jimenez, Moncada and Anderson all look pretty impressive, and Luis Robert could be a stud. I've always wanted to watch the Cubs beat the Sox in the World Series.