Crawford and The Blackhawks Will Be Parting Ways

OFFICIAL: #Blackhawks will not re-sign veteran goaltender Corey Crawford.
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 8, 2020

I had a conversation with Corey earlier today and it was an emotional talk,” Bowman said. “The message to Corey and to everyone is that we’ve decided we have some young goaltenders in Chicago we believe in, much like Corey [in 2010]. We have a couple young goalies in [Kevin] Lankinen and [Collin] Delia who we haven’t given a real opportunity to. With where we’re headed, the NHL is relying more and more on young players. We’re going to embrace that moving forward.
Stan Bowman, 10/8/2020

This is like losing a friend. 13 seasons in Chicago, 488 games, a 260-162-53 record regular season record (52-42-0 in the playoffs), and 2 Stanley Cups later Corey Crawford will be leaving the Chicago Blackhawks.

To put this in perspective, Crawford has been a Chicago Blackhawks for most of my life. There were only 7 years of my existence in which Crow wasn’t a Blackhawk. He’s been lights out for the Hawks for so many damn years that it’s gonna be hard to let go. Bowman seems to be going towards a “younger, faster” strategy because the league has moved that way and sure that makes sense but it makes me so fucking fearful of whats gonna happen next.

There were plenty of goalies on the market who I would have loved for Chicago to pick up if we lost Crawford like Braden Holtby (30) or Jacob Markstrom (30). But how “young” is Bowman thinking? All of the top goalies on this list are over 30 and the Hawks sure as hell need someone with experience in net because their defense isn’t exactly stellar. He mentions Kevin Lankinen and Collin Delia but I don’t see them as starters. Lankinen hasn’t played an NHL game and Delia is experienced in net with the Hawks but I don’t see him as steady enough to start for them. If I knew more about Lankinen I’d say more but I have 0 substance here. The biggest positive is they both have lower cap hits than anyone on the market.

Now that the Hawks are parting ways with Crow, I’m afraid who else we could lose. If the Hawks lose Toews, Kane, or Keith, I will be losing every marble I have left – every single one (although there is probably like 4). Those 3 are pillars that hold this team up. If we lose Kaner, we are absolutely fucked, same goes for the Captain.

But I’m not letting myself go there because in these times if you worry about the what ifs, you’re gonna lose your mind. Anyway, goodbye Corey, Chicago will miss you dearly every day. Good luck bud!