CHICAGO – Corey Crawford He was declared “unfit to play” and did not practice with the Chicago Blackhawks when they opened training camp Monday as part of Phase 3 of the NHL Back to Play Plan.
Crawford also did not participate in any of the Chicago volunteer workouts during Phase 2, but is listed as one of five goalkeepers on his training camp list.
The 35-year-old, who had been healthy after missing 80 games in the past two seasons due to concussions, had a record of 16-20-3 with an average of 2.77 goals against this season, and among goalkeepers for Playing at least 40 games this season, he was tied for fifth in the NHL with a save percentage of .917.
Crawford divided the time most of the season with Robin LehnerBut after the latter was traded to the Las Vegas Golden Knights on February 24, it began the last eight Chicago games before the NHL season stopped on March 12 due to concerns over the coronavirus, marked 5-3-0 with 2.65 GAA and. 921 percent savings.
“The way we handle this, we’re looking at the guys who are here and ready to play, and when Corey is in that group, then we can talk about Corey,” said Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman. “Today’s focus was to get back on track. We have four goalkeepers here (Malcolm Subban Collin Delia, Kevin Lankinen, Matt Tomkins), and the goal is to be prepared when the time is right. We have some time, no doubt. Our first game is not for several weeks. “
The Blackhawks, who were 32-30-8 (.514 percentage points), enter the Stanley Cup Qualifiers as the No. 12 seed in the Western Conference. They will play seed number 5, the Edmonton Oilers (37-25-9, .585), in one of the top eight series of 5 starting at Rogers Place in Edmonton on August 1. Edmonton is the city center for the 12 western teams.
Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton said Subban, who was acquired in the Lehner trade, Delia and Lankinen will rotate while Crawford is out.
Of those three, Subban has the most NHL experience. He is 30-23-7 with a GAA of 2.97 and a .899 saving percentage in 66 games (60 starts) with the Boston Bruins, Golden Knights and Blackhawks, including 9-7-3 with a 3.17 GAA saving percentage. and .890 this season.
Delia is 7-5-3 with a GAA of 3.65 and a .906 saving percentage in 18 NHL games (16 starts), all with the Blackhawks. Lankinen, who was Delia’s backup for Rockford in the American Hockey League this season, has never played an NHL game.
When asked what happens if Crawford, who won the Cup with the Blackhawks in 2013 and 2015, cannot play, Colliton said: “We told him [the three rotating goalies] it will be based on their performance and everyone will be given the same opportunity. We have Matt Tomkins here too. He has done a good job at the AHL and ECHL levels, making it an opportunity for him to compete as well. In the end we will have to make a decision, but we want them to make it as difficult as possible.
“The opportunity now is for those other boys to compete. It is a great opportunity for us to evaluate them. We expect a lot of competition and we trust all three boys.”
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