Chicago Blackhawks’ Corey Crawford Snubbed by NHL Network

Corey Crawford missed being ranked in the top ten goaltenders by the NHL Network even though his numbers might tell a different story.

Some more bulletin board material for Corey Crawford.

The NHL Network rated the top ten goaltenders in the National Hockey League and the Blackhawks netminder was absent from the list. Here is a look at the top ten:

Crawford, a two-time Stanley Cup champion, has often gotten a bad rap that he has only succeeded due to the impressive team in front of him. And while these ratings do come after one of Crawford’s lower years on record, he has been a consistent staple in net for the ‘Hawks for many years.

Since 2013-14, Crawford has always finished in the top 13 in save percentage among goalies who started 50 games or more and has finished in the top 12 in goals against average. In the shortened 2012-13 season, lowering the bar to at least 30 games started in net, Crawford finished 5th in save percentage and 1st in goals against average.

Let’s take a look Crawford’s numbers over the last five years:

Save Percentage (at least 50 games played):

2016-17 – .918 – 8th in the league

2015-16 – .924 – 2nd in the league

2014-15 – .924 – 5th in the league

2013-14 – .917 – 13th in the league

2012-13 – .926 – 5th in the league (at least 30 games played)

Goals Against Average (at least 50 games played):

2016-17 – 2.55 – 12th in the league

2015-16 – 2.37 – 10th in the league

2014-15 – 2.27 – 8th in the league

2013-14 – 2.26 – 4th in the league

2012-13 – 1.94 – 1st in the league (at least 30 games played)

This is not to say the other ten goaltenders on this list are not good goalies in their own right, but Crawford has played in at least 55 games over the last 4 seasons and is consistently in the top ten or right around it.

Doing one-on-one comparisons, Crawford has had a higher save percentage than Holtby, Bobrovsky, and Lundqvist three of the last four years, as well as higher than Jonathan Quick and Pekka Rinne all four years.

While his 2016-17 may not have been the best in his career, it sure looks like Crawford can’t get any respect from NHL Network. Of course, outside of Murray and Quick, Crawford also has a stat higher than all of these other goaltenders combined: number of Stanley Cup rings.