Corey Crawford - What to expect?

[RenegadeStylings]

He's now been a full-time NHL starter for two seasons. His first season was impressive (33 W, 2.30GAA, .917 sv%, 4 SO) but he regressed slightly last year posting 30 wins, a 2.72GAA, .903sv% and no shutouts.

Despite his drop in numbers, the Hawks actually finished higher in the standings in 12-13 with the exact same point totals as in Crawford's rookie year.

Chicago doesn't have a high profiled backup, and all of their G prospects are atleast going to be 2-3 years away from seeing NHL time. Plus, rumours have floated consistently over the last year+ that the Hawks could at any time trade a player like Patrick Kane for a more proven goaltender.

So, predict the future and tell me your thoughts on Crawford and the Hawks. What can we expect from him next season and potentially over the next 5 years?

[Katharsis]

I think what we've seen from his first season is the best we can expect from him - strong wins behind a strong team (even stronger if they figure out their PP again), with middle of the road peripherals and 2-4 SHOs each year.

He is definitely not as bad as his sophomore slump season - I'm not seeing shades of Steve Mason and the team in front of him is a lot stronger than the CBJ teams. The only real concern is a Ray Emery renaissance; if a goalie struggles on a Quenville team, he's not going to get to play his way out of it. Emery is capable of hot streaks like anybody else, so when Crawford struggles, he'll lose a chunk of playing time which means it be very unlikely he ever posts >33Ws.

Next season, I'd be looking at a middle ground between his first two: 30-33W, 2.35-40 GAA, 910-15 SV% and a couple of SHOs if he's lucky. As long as he isn't your #1, he's a safe play as a #2 if you've got a stud #1 - if you're like one of my teams and don't have that proven stud #1, he's best suited to a #2b or #3 role with two guys ahead of him on your roster you can fall back on when he sits.

[RenegadeStylings]

Thanks.

As it stands right now I have Varlamov as my #1, followed by Theodore, Markstrom and Marty Biron rounding out my top 4 ahead of some good prospects. It's a very deep league with goalie stats counting for 40% of all stats. So it's an area I am hoping to improve.

I have offers on the table for Jeff Skinner, who I put on the block with the hope of getting a goalie.

The current offers I have so far are:

Skinner for Crawford+

and

Skinner for Reimer+


Reimer doesn't really intrigue me but Crawford might not be a bad number two guy to have for the next couple of years considering I have fairly good FW and D depth but need to uprade my G's in a league that's nearly impossible to accomplish that in.

[Katharsis]

Trading Skinner now would be selling low on him, IMO. Let him play a year with Semin on the team and the PP in particular.

I'm not sure what the + is on those deals, but if you're in that much need of G help, I'd be looking for better than Crawford or Reimer. I know for sure I could not land Skinner for Crawford+ (assuming the + is somebody low enough that you didn't feel the need to mention them in the first place) in the league I hold Crawford in.

[Pengwin7]

FWIW, I'm part of this conundrum.
The Crawford conundrum.
IDK, I hate it when people say they have a "gut feeling" on something without substantiating it... but I don't have a good feeling on Crawford.

My buddy & I have a keeper team where our two goalies are Fleury/Crawford.
We won the league last year... but I think it's going to be really tough to repeat this year with those two (points-only pool with W=2,SO=3).

Crossing my fingers.
There are a few NHL players that I can't peg... Corey Crawford is one of them.

(sorry for all the talkie and no helpie)

[27Blue]

my gut says crawford will not be an nhl starter in 5 years...

thanks gut.

[RenegadeStylings]

Trading Skinner now would be selling low on him, IMO. Let him play a year with Semin on the team and the PP in particular.

I'm not sure what the + is on those deals, but if you're in that much need of G help, I'd be looking for better than Crawford or Reimer. I know for sure I could not land Skinner for Crawford+ (assuming the + is somebody low enough that you didn't feel the need to mention them in the first place) in the league I hold Crawford in.

I agree that trading now would be selling low on Skinner. As for the + in the deals, it will likely end up as a solid prospect, but nobody NHL-ready or anyone that would be a top end prospect like a Scheifele or Galchenyuk type of player.

I also have another offer out there that would see me trade Skinner/Theodore for Tarasenko/Backstrom. That deal I would be interested in doing, but just wanted to test the Dobber waters to see what people thought about Crawford in general.

[5hole]

I would much rather have skinner than crawford. If varlamov is your #1 i would be looking for a Stud tender and making Varly #2. I would overpay as well. look to see who has the best goalies and depth in your leauge and go from there...

[bondon]

30 wins is a pretty safe bet given the team he plays for as long as he plays enough games.

I'd say an average Sv% and GAA. Has to be better than last year.
As far as long term, I don't feel comfortable projecting anything beyond one year the way Chicago has rolled their tenders over the past handful of years.

[Fast Tony DeNiro]

I see Crawford as being pretty comparable to Jimmy Howard....the similarities are a little creepy. CC was drafted 52nd overall in 2003, Howard 64th. Both played two more seasons of minor hockey (CC in the QMJHL, JH in NCAA), before making their NHL debuts in the 2005-06 season (CC 2 games, JH 4 games). 2006-07 they both played a full AHL season, 2007-08 got a few more NHL games (CC 5 JH 4). 2008-09 each played 1 NHL game (CC playoff game, JH regular season). Then Howard took the reins in 2009-10 while Crawford would spend one more year in the AHL.

Career AHL stats
Crawford: 135-98-13, 2.75 GAA, .909 SV%, 8 SO
Howard: 90-73-11, 2.66 GAA, .911 SV%, 14 SO

Both were on the all-rookie team in their first season, Howard got a Calder nom while Crawford should have. Then their sophomore season hit.....Howard ended up at 2.79 and .908, Crawford 2.72 and .903.....

Howard bounced back last year with 35 wins, a 2.12 GAA and .920 SV%. I wouldn't expect numbers quite like that from Crawford but I do fully expect him to turn it around this upcoming season.

[Axeman33]

The fact that the Hawks havent made a play for a new goalie should provide the confidence for Crawford. His numbers last year werent great, but they werent bad either. If he can improve on his numbers from last year (and I believe he can) he is a solid option.

[hockeymanG23]

His SV% and GAA were piss poor last year. I'm not ready to discount him, still I realistically don't expect much more from him than a 2.50 GAA/ .910 S%. The wins will come regardless of his own performance.

That said, with Crawford as my own 3rd goalie I would waste no time in trading him for Skinner. Skinner is worth much , much more.... I think you should target a more proven goalie for Skinner, if you really are willing to move him that is