The Blackhawks probably know where Corey Crawford is, what he’s dealing with, and whether they’ll get him back before August 1.
But they don’t say it.
That means that Malcolm Subban is, for now, the main candidate to start a goal against the Oilers.
Subban was one of the first six players to attend the Hawks’ first informal Phase 2 workouts at Fifth Third Arena on June 10, indicating that he might have known for a while about the great opportunity that awaited them. In fact, he has participated in every training and practice he could possibly have done since hockey returned from his coronavirus shutdown.
When asked Wednesday when he learned of Crawford’s mysterious circumstance, Subban awkwardly replied awkwardly, clearly unsure of how much to reveal.
“Sort of like the first day … when I … when we didn’t see him here, obviously,” Subban said. “So I really don’t know too much about what’s going on, it’s something that is about every day. But yeah, that’s all I know. “
The NHL has made it clear with its universal “not fit to play” designation that they want absolutely nothing revealed. It’s a move designed to protect players’ privacy in case they’ve caught COVID-19, despite the reverse leading to wild assumptions that all ‘unfit’ players actually have COVID-19, while they don’t. everybody does.
So internally, the Hawks coaching staff and players are likely to have at least some general idea of whether or not they plan on Crawford eventually appearing.
That makes it interesting that Subban was much more decisive about one of his other comments on Wednesday: “It could end up being the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Without a doubt, this is a great opportunity for the 26-year-old netminder to resurrect his career.
Subban was highly touted as the Bruins’ first-round pick in 2012, his brother PK’s superstardom only contributed slightly to that, and he had a solid 2017-18 NHL debut season with the Golden Knights expansion, with a record from 13-4-2. 910 percent savings.
However, the past two years have caused a major decline in his game. He dropped to 8-10-2 with a .902 saving percentage in 2018-19, then improved his record to 9-7-3 but saw his saving percentage drop to an ugly .890 this season.
When the Knights acquired Robin Lehner on the deadline, Subban was basically an additional release to the package that returned to Chicago. He played just 71 seconds in the eight games between the coronavirus deadline and close, and if he leaves as a free agent this fall, he could end up having the Hawks’ shortest career (only in the regular season).
But the man with the Hawks’ shortest career is now, incredibly, the man the Hawks could count on to stop their playoff career.
Subban hopes that his maximum practice time this summer will help him capitalize on the opportunity.
“We were skating for three or four weeks, and I thought I was back to the little things,” he said. “And then I went out with [Hawks goalie coach Jimmy Waite] for the first time and I realized I still had a lot of things to work on. But just going out there and trying to correct those little back habits that formed and also going back to the game form, each skate will help. ”
Subban will have to fend off Collin Delia, who is more familiar with the organization and excelled in the second half of the AHL season, for the work.
However, given Subban’s NHL experience and contract status, it’s safe to say he’s the favorite for now.
Unless, of course, Crawford suddenly appears.
