This offseason, one of the biggest unknowns on this Blackhawks team is Corey Crawford. Many fans, including myself, are wondering whether or not he will be able to play in the upcoming 2018-19 season. The organization has been very secretive and vague about the whole thing up until now. The suspense has the entire fan base on the edge of their seats.
There have been signs pointing towards Crawford being able and ready to play next season. The first bit of good news was that the organization revealed that he would be attending the annual Blackhawks Convention this year.
#crOwMG! Corey Crawford is coming to the #Blackhawks Convention!
See all of the confirmed attendees and check back as more are added: https://t.co/EbHGVMI9dn pic.twitter.com/Pccll9MiA9
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) May 31, 2018
There was also a leaked photo of Corey Crawford’s goalie mask for the 2018-19 season.
Sneak peek at Corey Crawford’s new mask from longtime mask artist Stéphane Bergeron. #Blackhawks #CrowMG pic.twitter.com/UKQTyQdQDC
— MLP (@Pappy_Hour) June 1, 2018
How Valuable Is Corey Crawford to the Blackhawks?
In case you were wondering how valuable Corey Crawford is to the Chicago Blackhawks, the answer is extremely. Look no further than last season. The Blackhawks found themselves in unfamiliar territory as the team finished the 2018-19 season in last place, looking up at the Central Division. There are currently more questions than answers in the Blackhawks’ organization. Unlike in seasons past, this year, the biggest question involves the goaltending position.
Crawford missed three and a half months and look how the season turned out. In the 28 games before his injury, Crawford was performing at the level of a Vezina Trophy finalist.
Goal Scor Season Age Tm Lg GP GS W L T/O GA SA SV SV% GAA SO MIN QS QS% RBS GA%- GSAA GPS G A PTS PIM Awards 2017-18 33 CHI NHL 28 27 16 9 2 60 842 782 .929 2.27 2 1584 17 .630 3 81 13.90 6.2 0 0 0 0 Career NHL 409 395 230 124 45 930 11454 10524 .919 2.37 23 23567 238 .603 49 75.4 0 5 5 18
Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Corey Crawford has had a great career so far and he did it relatively under the radar. He regularly puts up a solid Save % and Goals Against Average (GAA). Another impressive feat is that Crawford has posted at least 2 shutouts every season since 2012. You can easily see the amount of value and impact he has.
Goal Scor Season Age Tm Lg GP GS W L T/O GA SA SV SV% GAA SO MIN QS QS% RBS GA%- GSAA GPS G A PTS PIM Awards 2005-06 21 CHI NHL 2 0 0 1 5 41 36 .878 3.47 0 86 0.1 0 0 0 0 2007-08 23 CHI NHL 5 3 1 2 0 8 112 104 .929 2.14 1 224 2 .667 0 0.9 0 0 0 0 2009-10 25 CHI NHL 1 1 0 1 0 3 35 32 .914 3.04 0 59 1 1.000 0 0.2 0 0 0 0 2010-11 26 CHI NHL 57 55 33 18 6 128 1545 1417 .917 2.30 4 3337 34 .618 6 95 6.59 10.0 0 1 1 2 Calder-4 2011-12 27 CHI NHL 57 55 30 17 7 146 1507 1361 .903 2.72 0 3218 27 .491 13 112 -15.70 7.3 0 0 0 0 2012-13 28 CHI NHL 30 28 19 5 5 57 769 712 .926 1.94 3 1761 19 .679 1 84 10.73 6.0 0 0 0 4 AS-6Jennings-1Vezina-8 2013-14 29 CHI NHL 59 56 32 16 10 128 1533 1405 .917 2.26 2 3395 31 .554 6 97 4.09 9.8 0 1 1 0 2014-15 30 CHI NHL 57 57 32 20 5 126 1661 1535 .924 2.27 2 3333 38 .667 4 89 15.77 11.9 0 1 1 8 AS-10Jennings-1Vezina-6 2015-16 31 CHI NHL 58 58 35 18 5 131 1718 1587 .924 2.37 7 3323 40 .690 9 90 15.27 12.0 0 1 1 2 AS-4Vezina-5 2016-17 32 CHI NHL 55 55 32 18 4 138 1691 1553 .918 2.55 2 3247 29 .527 7 94 8.34 11.0 0 1 1 2 2017-18 33 CHI NHL 28 27 16 9 2 60 842 782 .929 2.27 2 1584 17 .630 3 81 13.90 6.2 0 0 0 0 Career NHL 409 395 230 124 45 930 11454 10524 .919 2.37 23 23567 238 .603 49 75.4 0 5 5 18
Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Which Crawford will we see upon his return? Will we get the 3-time Stanley Cup champ and 2-time William M. Jennings Trophy winner in peak form, or will the wear and tear of playing in 82 game seasons every year (besides 2012-13) and playoffs over the past 8 seasons finally catch up to him? It is hard to say really. Crawford is currently 33 years old and will be turning 34 on December 31st. Age could start to become a factor for him at this point in his career.
Blackhawks Preparing For Post-Crawford Era?
The Blackhawks are preparing for the future. They recently signed four players on May 21st and one was a goalie, Kevin Lankinen.
Finnish goaltender Kevin Lankinen inks a 2-year deal with the #Blackhawks!
Get to know the 23-year-old netminder: https://t.co/wENEBZwlrY pic.twitter.com/HiR22MNdVB
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) May 22, 2018
Lankinen is a promising, young Finnish netminder who is getting better and better each year. He is also a proven playoff performer. Here are his career stats:
Lankinen also has the ability to make an acrobatic save as seen here in this video.
However, I do not see Lankinen making his NHL debut this season. He will likely report to either the Indy Fuel (ECHL) or the Rockford IceHogs (AHL), both of which are affiliate teams of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Corey Crawford Will Need Some Help Next Season
A healthy Corey Crawford will not be able to do it all on his own next season. If the Blackhawks are smart, they will surround him with a capable backup and some competent defensemen to take some of the pressure off of him. There are a couple ways to make this happen.
The 2018 NHL Draft is June 22-23 in Dallas, Texas. In my article about the upcoming draft, I listed my Top Targets in the draft for the Blackhawks. My favorite target is Quinn Hughes, a defenseman from Michigan who is oozing with potential and upside. Besides Hughes, there are a number of other players in the draft that can come in and make an immediate impact on the team.
As far as the backup goalie spot goes, it seems like the Blackhawks will make a move in free agency to fill that need. They have a few viable options to go with. My top UFA goalie target is former Blackhawk, Carter Hutton. At age 32, Hutton just posted the best stat line of his career in St. Louis and forced Jake Allen into a timeshare situation.
Goal Goal Goal Goal Goal Goal Goal Goal Goal Goal Goal Goal Goal Goal Goal Goal Goal Goal Season Age Tm Lg GP GS W L T/O GA SA SV SV% GAA SO MIN QS QS% RBS GA%- GSAA GPS 2017-18 32 STL NHL 32 26 17 7 3 56 810 754 .931 2.09 3 1610 19 .731 2 79 15.09 6.2 3 yrs NSH NHL 75 66 33 23 12 173 1920 1747 .910 2.55 4 4074 28 .424 12 10.5 2 yrs STL NHL 62 47 30 15 5 114 1473 1359 .923 2.23 7 3069 30 .638 5 10.0 1 yr CHI NHL 1 1 0 1 0 3 28 25 .893 3.06 0 59 0 .000 0 0.1 Career NHL 138 114 63 39 17 290 3421 3131 .915 2.42 11 7202 58 .509 17 20.6
Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Here are a few more capable options to fill the backup spot for the Blackhawks:
- Jonathan Bernier
- Michael Hutchinson
- Kari Lehtonen
- Jaroslav Halak
- Cam Ward
- Anton Khudobin
- Ondrej Pavelec
- Eddie Lack
If the Blackhawks decide to make a promotion from within the organization, I believe their best bet is to give Collin Delia a shot at the backup goaltender spot. He has definitely earned an opportunity to crack the NHL roster and I talked about it in detail in one of my previous articles.
The Blackhawks will definitely have their work cut out for them this offseason. General Manager, Stan Bowman, will need to use his last chance wisely and try to squeeze out one more postseason run before the window closes for our beloved Chicago Blackhawks. Let’s see if they can make it work because nobody wants to go through another failed season without a playoff appearance.
