Roenick: Crawford Not A Franchise Goalie Yet
CHICAGO (WSCR) Veteran goalie Marty Turco was supposed to lead the Chicago Blackhawks in their Stanley Cup Title defense this past season. Instead, it turned into rookie Corey Crawford taking over the job and never looking back.
In 57 regular season games, Crawford had a 33-18-6 record with a .917 save percentage and a 2.30 goals against average. His 33 wins were the most by a Blackhawks goalie since 2001, and a total that has not been exceeded since Ed Belfour won 37 games in the 1993-94 season.
"I don't know if he's a franchise goalie," former Blackhawk great Jeremy Roenick said on the Danny Mac Show. "I mean he's done very very well, but you know, it's one season. He played well, yes."
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While Roenick isn't ready to anoint Crawford as a franchise goalie, he's very aware of his performances throughout the season.
"I think that last game that he played against the Vancouver Canucks was one of the best goaltending displays I've seen in the playoffs this year," Roenick said. "It was a tremendous tremendous effort by him. And I think with that effort is going to translate to even better things next year.
"He's definitely starting on the right page...and I hope he continues to progress like he is."
Crawford will be a restricted free agent this offseason, and general manager Stan Bowman has made it clear that re-signing the 26-year old is a "top priority."
