Chicago Blackhawks’ Crawford Injury Could Be Career-Ending

Not only could Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford’s injury keep him out the rest of the season, but it could perhaps be a career-threatening one

Yesterday on the “Bernstein and Goff Show,” Dan Bernstein brought up a recent interview with Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville. This interview started off about Corey Crawford’s health and not the epic collapse of the Blackhawks.

In the interview, Quenneville was asked if Crawford’s injury will affect his long-term health. Quenneville did not squash the long-term health issue. He instead left the door open for more speculation that Crawford could have a career-ending injury.

Bernstein indicated his sources within the Blackhawks say Crawford’s situation is “complicated.”

What does this terminology mean?

Could “complicated” be code for an illness? Scotty Bowman guessed Crawford was dealing with post-concussion syndrome earlier in the injury timeline. Bowman would then walk back that statement.

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Could be it multiple sclerosis? Remember Bryan Bickell, and how the ‘Hawks did not know he was dealing with MS for an entire year before his diagnosis. Could it be similar to a Marian Hossa situation?

Remember, Hossa was laid out by Raffi Torres in 2012. He dealt with post-concussion issues for a long time.

Could it be similar to an Amanda Kessel situation? Kessel had to sit on the couch for two years because of a concussion symptoms. She still has issues with concussion symptoms but has been cleared to play. There are so many possibilities for the word “complicated.”

Uncertainty continues to reign

The situation with Crawford has been weird since it came about. He has been injured since Dec. 23, and it took forever for the ‘Hawks to say it was vertigo. Nobody is saying what caused the vertigo, and there was no long-term prognosis.

Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times raised a great point about head injuries:

Head injuries are as cruel and mysterious as they are dangerous, and the recoveries are often long and maddening. One day, you might feel like your old self; the next, you might need to spend the day in a room with the lights low and the curtains drawn. These things aren’t linear, nor are they predictable.

Lazerus’ statement may hold true for Crawford. He appeared on the ice on Feb. 13 with goalies coach Jimmy Waite. Since then, he has suffered another setback and there is no timetable for his return. Most people believe Crawford should sit out the rest of this season.

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The more and more this drags out without any definite answers, the more it is leaning toward a career-ending injury in my mind. I understand that hockey is very secretive about its injuries, but at some point you have to wonder.  I hope Crawford is not dealing with an illness and that whatever he is dealing with does not effect his long-term health outside of hockey.

We might not find out what is really going on with Crawford until the offseason.