October 10, 2020: Now What

The Blackhawks had 2 really good goalies last year. They had this new guy, Robin Lehner. I really liked him. I just knew they were going to sign him. They didn’t. That left the guy that helped the Hawks raise 2 of their 3 Cups this decade. We’ve been all over the place with our feelings about this guy, but at the end of the day, you can’t knock what Corey Crawford accomplished with this team. He was a big reason down the stretch that the Hawks even had a chance to play bubble hockey this postseason. He was playing in the final year of his contract. Thursday afternoon it was announced by the Blackhawks that they would NOT be resigning him. Now what?

Let’s start with the announcement. Stan Bowman delivered the message, as he should as GM of the team. My only question is… why is he still here? No, not Corey, Stan. Coach Q had to take the hit, what, more than a year ago now. Yet, Bowman remains… even with this latest decision setting the Hawks up for an absolute tough couple years ahead. When Q went, we had to bite the bullet; when will Stan bite his? Nice timing on the announcement… the day of a big Bears game. This stuff isn’t done on accident. The Bears playing later that day would soften the blow; I’m sure that was in consideration. It wasn’t only this decision, but the one earlier in the year to not resign Lehner. I would completely understand this move IF Lehner had been signed earlier in the year. He was younger than Crawford; he was really good. Sign him long term, let Corey walk after the year, I’m fine. But you let BOTH go? I know there are cap issues, but whose fault is that? I’m sorry, but the next person the Hawks need to tell to NOT come back is Bowman.

Back to Corey… Crawford finished 3rd in franchise history with 260 wins. Only behind Hall of Famers Tony Esposito and Glenn Hall; just ahead of Hall of Famer Eddie Belfour. He’s got the same ranking in goals against and save percentage. And oh yeah, there are those 2 pretty important trophies… Without Crawford, do the Hawks win in 2013 & 2015? Thankfully we don’t have to answer that. My question is if you think Crow is a Hall of Famer? For somebody who is in that conversation, he was sure under the microscope here. I guess playing goalie puts you in that spotlight in general. Playing this position for the top franchise in the NHL during your career, the team that brought hockey back with a vengeance to Chicago, it’s understandable. He had his moments where he gave up the easy goals, sometimes in big spots; he missed his fair share of time with injuries. We questioned him… we called for other goalies… Emery, Raanta, Darling, Lehner. But through it all, Crow was there for us. We needed a big win, he got it for us. We needed a big save, he gave us a ten beller. We needed somebody to be that stone wall, when your defense allows the team to camp out in front of the net, he stood tall. We needed him to stand on his head in a playoff series, he did it. Corey Crawford IS one of the best goalies in Blackhawks history; there is no questioning that. Thanks for everything Corey. Good luck.

Since then, we’ve found out that Corey will be playing in goal for New Jersey Devils for 2 years $3.9M per year. Lehner had signed earlier with the Vegas Golden Knights for 5 years $5M per year. And we signed Malcolm Subban for 2 years $850K per year; have you ever heard of the saying you get what you pay for? Hey, I hope Malcolm does awesome, and I am very happy that the Hawks resigned Kubalik… thank God! And I also know that we have some young defensemen coming… but it’s going to take a little time. How many goals per game will the inconsistent Hawks offense have to score to win games next year? How long will it take the defense to solidify? Do we have a goalie on our current roster that can be THE guy? More questions than answers… Good luck to us.