Chicago Blackhawks: Was that Corey Crawford’s last game?

Has Corey Crawford played in his last game for the Chicago Blackhawks?

The Chicago Blackhawks are done for 2019-20. They were eliminated in six five games by the Vegas Golden Knights. It was a hard-fought series by them but they were overmatched by Vegas in every aspect. They surprised a lot of people for defeating Edmonton and they should be proud of that but it isn’t surprising that it came to an end early in the first round. One player who should be extra proud is their goaltender, Corey Crawford.

He has been brilliant for a very long time but he was extra special at times in the bubble. There were a couple of goals that he probably wishes he had back in both series’ but he was solid overall. He is one of the most underrated players in the NHL and certainly underrated in terms of the Blackhawks dynasty. The question now for Crawford is whether or not he has played his final game for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Crawford’s contract is up at the conclusion of the playoffs. He is 35 years old and will be 36 not long into the 2020-21 season as he was a New Year’s Eve baby. He has been so great for the Chicago Blackhawks as he has been the backbone of a team that won the Stanley Cup twice in a span of four years. He has a career record of 260-162-53 with 26 shutouts. He has a career 2.45 goals-against average and .918 save percentage. There are also two Jennings Trophies on his very good career resume.

If this is the end for Crawford in Chicago, he can leave knowing he did all that he could. He was brilliant when the team around him was awesome and he remained just as brilliant when the team really started to fall off. It is hard to find a guy who battles that hard night in and night out. Crawford is an all-time great Blackhawks goaltender.

There is, however, a chance that he returns as well. The Blackhawks don’t have a backup plan or anything like that so they might be willing to have Crawford back on another short term deal. Crawford has already made a decent amount of money and has done plenty of winning so you have to wonder if he will just go back to all he knows and what makes him comfortable. With that said, nobody would say anything negative about him pursuing one more Stanley Cup somewhere else.

Chicago owes a lot to Corey Crawford. He has helped deliver some of the greatest memories in this city’s sports history and he should forever have respect for that. He has his haters but those people just don’t know what they are talking about because he was money for a long time. No matter what his decision is, his time in Chicago has been fun to be a part of to this point.