Ever since the departure of Antti Raanta, who was traded to the New York Rangers, ahead of last season, the Chicago Blackhawks’ goaltending has been one of their most stable positions. As the lines were jumbled and the defense was starting to crumble, Corey Crawford and Scott Darling held down the fort as best they could.
Crawford was outstanding until a head injury took him down late in the season. When he returned, he was still very good but not the unstoppable wall he was at the start of the season.
Darling wasn’t as effective as he was in his rookie season, where he salvaged a first round playoff series on route to a Stanley Cup. However, Darling was no longer playing in behind the offensively balanced team of 2015, or the defensive corps that included Johnny Oduya. His numbers were bound to decline.
The Old Guard
All signs point to Crawford being on the rise, last season’s save percentage matched his career high (0.924) in a season where he played in 50 or more games, and he recorded a league-best seven shutouts by the halfway mark.
Had Crawford not been injured, there were whispers of him having a Vezina-worthy season.
Crawford was still a force in the playoffs. Unfortunately, he came up against one of the hottest netminder in the league in Brian Elliott. The Blues and Elliott ultimately made Crawford’s effort look less than perfect, in spite of the fact that St. Louis never won a game by more than a single goal.
That series was a goaltending tour de force as both netminders had their fair share of unstoppable shots that were snatched out of the air like they were on radar lock.
Even though Crawford looked good (especially considering he had played just one game after returning from injury), Elliott was quite simply better in that series. The Blackhawks offense struggled to find an answer.
The series ended in seven, and the Blackhawks were in unfamiliar territory as their season ended in the first round for the first time since 2011-12.
Darling never made an appearance in the playoffs, but he did appear in a career high 29 games. His numbers fell off a bit after a breakout first season, but so did the defense that lined up in front of him with Duncan Keith, Niklas Hjalmarsson, and Brent Seabrook each pairing up with less experienced defensemen like Trevor van Riemsdyk, Erik Gustafsson, and Viktor Svedberg for much of the season. Michal Rozsival was also used sparingly.
Veterans like Trevor Daley, Rob Scuderi, and Christian Ehrhoff were also given a shot with the Blackhawks, but each of them played limited minutes with varying degrees of success. The altered state of the defense and the decreased scoring output were certainly contributing factors in Darling’s sophomore slump.
Souped Up Blue Line
While both netminders will be looking to improve on last season, a number of offseason moves will also help in net.
24 April 2011: Brian Campbell catches up with the puck in the Vancouver zone.
Photographer: Warren Wimmer/Icon Sportswire
The job of the netminder is about to get a little easier, as the additions of Michal Kempny and Brian Campbell will provide an immediate boost to a defensive corps that had struggled last season with a lack of depth. Kempny may have some adjustments as he comes to North America, but Campbell is returning home to the team that helped him raise the Cup in 2010.
Campbell is a veteran defenseman that can eat up 20-plus minutes of ice time if necessary. He is also a strong possession player which is something the Blackhawks are looking to improve upon after a dip in possession that last few seasons. More importantly, his familiarity should shorten any adjustment period as he is already familiar with the Blackhawks core and their coaching staff.
However, the Blackhawks still have to address scoring as they are now missing Andrew Shaw and Teuvo Teravainen, and they can’t rely on the second line of Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin, and Artem Anisimov as they did last year. The other lines are going to have to bring balance because even the best goalies can’t win games if their teams don’t score.
The other lines are going to have to bring balance because even the best goalies can’t win games if their teams don’t score.
Expansion and Opportunity
However, two things are working against the Blackhawks like a ticking time bomb.
The most obvious is the expansion draft. It brings doom and gloom to every team in the league but looms heavily over contenders and teams that are carrying a lot of no movement clauses. The Blackhawks fall into both categories.
No team can protect more than one netminder, and Darling will not be that netminder. Of course, it would seem unlikely that he gets picked up with 30 teams exposing one goalie each, but there are no guarantees.
Darling has proven he is a solid backup netminder with a good head on his shoulders and the ability to make some staggering saves which could make him appealing.
Unless one of the Blackhawks big name defenders or van Riemsdyk is exposed in the expansion draft, Darling could be targeted.
He is also on an expiring contract and carries a reasonable cap hit which could also make him a trade target at some point ahead of the deadline. Next year, he is going to command more than his current $587,500 and the Blackhawks may not be able to offer him more than a marginal increase.
The Blackhawks technically do not currently meet the requirements for the goaltender available with Darling as he is not signed, nor is he a restricted free agent at the end of next season which means he won’t be the only goalie exposed.
Mac Carruth (who has yet to challenge for an NHL role since being drafted in 2010) will be a restricted free agent. He will likely be exposed to meet the NHL’s requirements (and keep the Blackhawks from being penalized), but Darling will still be available as well.
One goaltender who is under contract in 2017-18 or will be a restricted free agent at the expiration of his current contract immediately prior to 2017-18. If the club elects to make a restricted free agent goaltender available in order to meet this requirement, that goaltender must have received his qualifying offer prior to the submission of the club’s protected list. (NHL.com)
Smoke and Mirrors
The expansion is going to be tricky enough for any team to navigate. Each team is bound to lose someone who is a fan favorite, or possibly a piece that seemed vital to the future of the team. Every team will be carefully planning in preparation for the expansion draft.
However, that doesn’t mean that teams won’t be scrambling to steer the expansion team towards a dangled carrot, or make trades that are preemptive strikes to get as much equity from a given asset. With those options in play, many teams will hedge their bets with a shiny new player to transition into the place of a player they couldn’t protect or are forced to trade.
In the crease, that shiny new player is Lars Johansson. At 28, he is a bit of a late bloomer (though goalies often are), but he is the reigning goaltender of the year in Sweden’s SHL.
Johansson will inevitably get a chance to impress coach Joel Quenneville, but could it be an audition to replace Darling should he have another subpar start or perhaps land on the trading block ahead of expansion?
Darling is due for a new contract and his performance thus far almost certainly warrants a raise. The Blackhawks have precious little cap space to play with, as they must extend Artemi Panarin (who is exempt from expansion) who is bound to get a hefty new contract. With that in mind, Darling may already be on borrowed time.
While Johansson is not the towering netminder that Quenneville seems to prefer at 6’1″ and 198 pounds, his skills could still earn him a spot as the backup to Crawford if circumstances dictate a change.
Johansson is considered to have a relaxed style of play, allowing the game to come to him. The only real knock on his technique is that he can be a little lax on rebound control. However, his numbers indicate that it isn’t a fatal flaw by any means.
Johansson allowed only 54 goals in his 37 appearances for Frolunda (SHL) with 1.74 goals against average and 0.927 save percentage. His numbers were even better (0.947 save percentage and 1.43 goals against average) during their playoff run with Frolunda as he led them to the SHL Championship. These kinds of numbers are more than adequate if they can be replicated at the NHL level.
In fact, if Johansson can produce at that level he could potentially challenge Crawford for the starting position. That would create a whole new narrative.
If Crawford could be forced from his starting role, there could be a big netminder available come expansion. However, that would be a long shot as Johansson would have to produce consistently at the NHL level throughout the season for the team to even consider putting a proven winner at risk.
Though, Pittsburgh’s Matt Murray is proof that a rookie netminder can unseat the proven winner like Marc-Andre Fleury from time to time.
At the moment, it seems much more likely that Johansson will start in the AHL with the Rockford IceHogs where he can adapt to the NHL’s ice surface and learn the North American game. However, he does have the potential to come out in training camp and surprise everyone. Only time will tell.
Whatever may come, with Crawford, Darling, and Johansson at the ready, the Blackhawks seem to have a trio of goalies who can each make an impact at the NHL level.
Clearly, the team is prepared for whatever the aftermath may be once the expansion dust settles — at least where their netminders are concerned.
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