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Chicago Blackhawks: An extended look at the new guys

By Vincent Parise

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - JANUARY 20: Robin Lehner #40 and Matt Martin #17 of the New York Islanders celebrate victory over the Anaheim Ducks at NYCB Live at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on January 20, 2019 in Uniondale, New York. The Islanders shut-out the Ducks 3-0. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - JANUARY 20: Robin Lehner #40 and Matt Martin #17 of the New York Islanders celebrate victory over the Anaheim Ducks at NYCB Live at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on January 20, 2019 in Uniondale, New York. The Islanders shut-out the Ducks 3-0. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Chicago Blackhawks Robin Lehner
(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

Robin Lehner

The Chicago Blackhawks had some awesome goaltending during their dynasty. They had the tandem of Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi in 2009-2010 before Niemi took over in the playoffs and led them to the Stanley Cup, and then Corey Crawford took over and was an elite goalie for a long time.

Now Corey Crawford is towards the end of his career and has dealt with some concussion issues over the last two seasons. Last season Collin Delia and Cam Ward split starts three ways with Crawford over the 82 games. This year will likely be different.

The team signed former Islanders goaltender to a one year deal on July 1st and he is an upgrade over both Ward and Delia. To say he is an upgrade over Crawford might appear to be disrespectful to Crawford, but Lehner was nominated for the Vezina Trophy as the leagues best goalie in 2018-19. He didn’t win the award but he was in the top three which says a lot about his year.

He was also nominated and won the Masterton Trophy which is given to the NHL player who most exemplifies sportsmanship, perseverance, and dedication to hockey. He is a good character and it shows in his incredible story of how he got back to the NHL after mental health and substance abuse issues.

If Crawford gets hurt, there will be a new starting goalie and that is Lehner. It is hard to guess who will get the most starts if both are healthy, but there certainly won’t be any backup split if Crawford gets time. I would expect Lehner to have a great year because on a one year deal he is gonna have a lot to prove once again.

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