Corey Crawford has spent his entire career with just one team, the Chicago Blackhawks, and he has earned the right to finish out his career with the ‘Hawks.
The NHL is currently on a break, and while we might not see the Chicago Blackhawks again this season, they will return to action next season. That means Corey Crawford might have played his final game with Chicago.
Crawford is not under contract for next season, he will become a free agent on July 1st, that means that the Blackhawks are running out of time to re-sign their two-time Stanley Cup Champion goalie. Chicago was riding two great goalies throughout this season until the trade deadline when they traded Robin Lehner and put their faith in Crawford.
They do have some young goalies in their system with talent, and with all this time on our hands, I will be writing about them in the future. No matter who is in the system I still think Crawford is the right guy for the next few seasons.
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Crawford can help pass the mantle to the next Blackhawks’ goalie. He has mentored players like Antti Raanta and Scott Darling in the past, and he can mentor the next goalie, maybe Collin Delia.
Crawford has spent his entire career in Chicago, and like Keith and Seabrook, he should be allowed to finish his career with the ‘Hawks. Goalies like Carey Price and Henrik Lundquist have spent their career with one team, same with Tuukka Rask and Pekka Rinne.
I know Crawford is not as young as he used to be, and he has had some bad concussions in the past, but for two or three million a year for the next two or three years I think Crawford can stay in Chicago. Crawford is still showing that he can play at a high level against some of the best teams in the league.
Two-time Stanley Cup Champion goalies do not grow on trees. I do not think that Corey Crawford is going to go into the hockey hall of fame, or even get his number retired by the Blackhawks, but I do think that he will always be a Blackhawks legend.
Crawford is apart of the core that helped bring multiple cups to Chicago, and Stan Bowman needs to offer him a contract to make sure he stays in the windy city!