3 goalies for the Chicago Blackhawks to consider drafting

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - NOVEMBER 09: Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Chicago Blackhawks minds the net against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the United Center on November 09, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. The Blackhawks defeated the Penguins 3-2 in a shootout. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - NOVEMBER 09: Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Chicago Blackhawks minds the net against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the United Center on November 09, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. The Blackhawks defeated the Penguins 3-2 in a shootout. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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Over the last 15 years, the Chicago Blackhawks have had some really good goaltenders come through. Of course, it was Marc-Andre Fleury in 2021-22 that carried the load before being traded away. It was cool to see a legend like that play for the Blackhawks for a short time.

For the longest time, however, the Blackhawks were carried in net by Corey Crawford. He is one of the best and most accomplished goalies in the history of the franchise. During his tenure, good backups like Antti Raanta, Ray Emery, Kevin Lankinen, and Scott Darling helped them win a lot too.

Before the Corey Crawford era began, Antti Niemi helped them end the long Stanley Cup drought in 2010. Until now, they have been somewhat secure at that position which gave them a chance to win.

Going into 2022, however, things are different. Fleury is not coming back. Both Kevin Lankinen and Collin Delia can leave in free agency as well. They have prospects like Drew Comemsso and Arvid Soderblom to be excited about as well but nothing is guaranteed.

The Chicago Blackhawks could be a team that considers drafting a goalie.

In order to find the right guy, they need to continue drafting goalies until they identify which one can be the franchise piece. They will certainly sign someone in free agency to be a stop-gap in 2022-23 but this draft could be a place to draft another one for the future.

If they took a goalie in Montreal this week and more than one of their prospects at the position hit, they will be in a situation where they can use more than one or make a big trade. That is a good problem to have. These are three goalies to consider drafting: