Blackhawks, Corey Crawford Agree to 6-Year Extension
On Labor Day, the Chicago Blackhawks announced a six-year contract extension with should-have-been Conn Smythe winner Corey Crawford. The deal will keep Crawford in Chicago thru the 2019-20 season.
Renaud Levoie is reporting the deal is worth $36M ($6M cap hit).
Crawford, 28, was selected in the second round (52nd overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. After winning the William M. Jennings Trophy with Ray Emery by leading the NHL in goals allowed during the 2013 regular season, many wanted Emery to be in net to start the playoffs.
But Crawford quieted his critics with a stellar postseason in which he posted a 16-7 record, a league-best 1.84 goals against average, a .932 save percentage and one shutout in 23 games.
The news was broken by Philip Prichard – aka the Cup Keeper – on Twitter on Monday morning. But before the Blackhawks made the announcement formal, his tweet had been deleted.
Since making his NHL debut in 2005, Crawford has a 83-43-19 record with a 2.40 goals-against average, a .913 save percentage and eight shutouts in 152 career regular season games.
Wow! This one is a bit of shocker for me. CC played well in Playoffs- but…
I guess I need to wait to see the financial details of this…
If it is under $4M- I can live with it – I guess… I am not a fan of the length… and if it’s for $4M + I think it could come back to hurt Hawks – length and $$$.
Goalies=Pitchers!!!!
Wow, this is a surprise. Really curious about the $…
Took a while but Bowman finally made a move that confuses me. Yes, Crow was pretty damn good in the playoffs and should have won the CS, but I think 36M for CC is too many dollars and likely more than he would have gotten on the open market.
Only, way it makes sense is SB is sure the Cap will be over $72M+ in 2-3 years.
I hate the deal!
Emery had identical #’s to CC last year- and in practices I watched Emery let up twice as many goals as CC- which leads me to believe that the Hawks/D/System are the reason for the Goalie #’s/success! And not CC. Or is SB telling us that Emery is also worth $6M too?
Not a good deal considering the $$$ needed to keep 4, 65,19,88,20 in next couple of years!
The only way this deal makes sense is if Bowman knows the cap will rise enough to extend Toews and Kane next summer as well as a number of other players needed to keep the Hawks deep enough to stay contenders – Hjalmarsson and Shaw now, Leddy and Saad and other next summer. I’ve seen comments that “the Cap better go up to $72M in the next 2-3 years” or else the Hawks will in danger of not extending Toews and Kane (and others), but according to the math I’ve looked at, the Cap will need to be around $70M next year, and at least $76M the following year to afford Toews and Kane (and others).
It seems unlikely that someone (Stan), who will never be confused with a riverboat gambler, would gamble on the Cap rising enough afford what lies ahead unless he has assurances to make it less a risk and more a sure thing. Revenues are trending up but there’s also the possibility of expansion. I have no idea what expansion could do to the Cap but the GMs would know and based on the way some of them have spent this summer, in light of the supposed belt tightening, lockout induced, new CBA, it would appear the GMs know something that the rest of us don’t … at least I hope so.
Yea, it a Little too high. I do believe the cap will go up moar than people are thinking as well. I am guessing 70.3 for 2015-16.
We re at 62 now. You need 10m to cover these contracts. Just need to cut 2m.
Toews 6.3 to 8.3
Kane 6.3 to 8.3
Hjam 3.5 to 5.5
Saad .900 to 2.9
Crow 2.7 to 6
I think for the 2016-17, it definitely will be up to 72+m.
Morrison: Leddy and Kruger’s deals are up at the same time as DDN and Saad. What do you think Leddy might be worth in 2 years if he develops the way we hope?
We all want to keep everyone longterm, but no team can. When Leads contract is up, I think he just takes Oduya spot (Oduya out & Clendening in…).
Some of the guys(role players) will always be in for a few yrs, then moar guys come up for a few yrs, etc. Thats the way we can keep the core player we want to long term.
Trust me the Bomans know what their doing (longterm wise).
$6mm…………………really?
Yeah this contract is hard to fit in. I think the Hawks will move either Seabrook or Hammer after this season to help make room. If Corey plays as well as he did this year every year, then I think he’s worth it. This is paying him as if he’s one of the top 10 goalies in the league.
Strange deal indeed. I believe that if Bickell will play badly next couple seasons there are still few teams willing to trade for him. But let´s asume that Crawford will play next two season as he does in 11/12. Nobody will trade for him. Btw. what if Raanta or some another golie will step up? Do we need Luongo/Schneider controversy? I used to hear that Bowman motto is:”never pay the golie”.
CC at $6MM per year?? Oh NO!! C’mon, you’re kidding right?! Only rationale this can possibly make sense:
* Goalie pricing for top-10 types is skyrocketing and avg new deals are now in this range or more (Rask 8yrs/$56MM, Quick 10yrs/$58MM, etc)… Of course, this assumes that Crawford demonstrates his ability to perform in this category moving forward.
* Hawks hope Raanta comes along in a year or 2 but they can’t risk being stuck without true #1 until he’s ready..
* If CC shows he’s consistently more like the guy we saw for much of last year and less like 2011-12, Hawks have a market-cost goalie we can win with as proven in 2012-13. If not, you try to trade a “Cup Winning” goalie with a “reasonable/market” contract (unlike Luongo), and turn to Ranta..
* You are sure the cap is increasing….
Like it or not, Hawks have secured the next several years in net and will have to live with the fallout on soon to be expiring deals and cap spending limitations… Hope they’re right…
As I wrote earlier this summer, the Hawks had a decision to make in net with some options coming. Either they rolled the dice – again – after winning a Cup and waited to see if Raanta/Carruth/Whitney developed into “the guy,” or they paid Crawford and kept him around. They decided to keep him around long term.
As CSN’s Chris Boden pointed out on Twitter, all of the guys the Hawks have put long-term faith (read: money) into have paid off since Bowman took the reigns. We’ll see if Bickell & Crawford follow the trend.
Also, including Crawford, the Hawks now have only 6 players signed into the 2015-16 season. If we include Danault, Teravainen & McNeill, they have $40M in 9 players for that season pre-Kane & Toews extensions.
MISTAKE,Mark my words.
While I might think it’s too much money, I’ll trust Bowmen in his decision making. When I thought they should have sold the house to pick someone up he knew better and because of that the team is in an excellent position. The cap will be high enough in two years to afford both Kane and Toews and I’m willing to trust he knows the market place more then we do.
Remember salaries rise and the smart ones lock players up before not after.
Interesting. I like retaining Crawford. This tells me however that Sharp probably has one more year left in Chicago. And that Seabrook or Hjalmarsson will be gone after next year. And / or Cledening will replace Leddy before next payday.
I trust Stan implicitly.
Excellent comments across the board…thanks everyone…thanks for your insight and updates Tab…first, Stan Bowman (as ER said) is NOT a riverboat gambler…by making this move Stan is telling us that he knows the salary cap is going back up, because its the ONLY way the Hawks can afford to make this deal…to that end, it adds CC to the core group and still gives us room to extend Toews, Kane, Shaw, Saad, Hammer, etc…
As to the deal itself and the player…I tend to agree with Wall and JS that goaltenders are not the most important aspects of any team, and thus $6 million dollars a year for a guy that let in the goals he did in game 4 of the finals is a bit disconcerting…but then again, CC is a VERY young 28, he’s a SC champion, he’s very athletic, he knows how to “play large” in the net, plus he has a “flat lined” personality, which is perfect for long term consistency in net…
At the end of the day, I trust the Bowmans got it right, and a tandem of CC and Raanta is very, very impressive! I am very much looking forward to this season and seeing CC back with all the new kids in the lineup…we have such a strong system that I know they are all going to fit right in and play sound 2 way hockey!!!
Hello ALL, I hope you’re enjoying the summer!
I agree with Sr. Brad – “Excellent comments across the board…thanks everyone…”
I believe Stan Bowman (and Scotty, as much as he’s involved…) has earned the benefit-of-the-doubt – he’s managed the cap as well/better than anyone.
I guess the cap hit and/or length seem a little high(?), but, from what I’ve seen, Howard and Rask are not significantly better than Crawford. Also, the Jonathan Quick probably “raised-the-bar”, and winning the Cup factors-in.
One for Tab – Crawford & team “chemistry”? What do you think? I figured Sharp wasn’t going anywhere because he obviously was a large part of it — is Corey?
Tab rightfully calls CC the should-have-been Conn Smythe trophy winner, which is miles different than his previous year’s playoff title. No one travelled as far in one year as Corey Crawford did last year. The Cup cannot be understated, that baby was one for the ages. And the Hawks appear to be solid for years. SB has done his job masterfully.
So what’s the deal, does this delirious contract start this year? Because my understanding was Kruger’s signing and the carcillo trade gave the Hawks $1.2 million
in cap space. CC’s raise doesn’t fit. I’ll hang up and listen.
Great to have something to talk about again! Missed you guys.
re: IceHogst – the deal doesn’t kick in until 2014-15.
re: Dickie Dunn – chemistry is important, certainly, but also consider that Bowman is showing agents that kids taking shorter second contracts for perhaps less money will eventually get rewarded if they perform (Bickell, Crawford). He’s given two healthy deals to a couple system guys that worked hard to make it to where they are.
Tab- I agree w/ comment about Hawks taking care of the kids who work hard/wait and pan out.
Furthermore- it seems to be SB’s blueprint (which I agree with) in the Cap era – to have a nice “core” w/ $$$ and fill out the lower half w/ young, cheap talent… this blueprint’s success -IMO- if a couple of the youngster’s really pan out… (Shaw, Kruger, Saad). These kids don’t have to be superstars, or score 50+ points… but they do have to be special, smart, quick, tough beyond their years. SB deserves credit for Drafting/finding these guys.
But- I always applauded SB for not overpaying for the goalie slot- and instead finding/paying the guys in front of goalie-
C’MON- THE HAWK’S MADE EMERY LOOK LIKE A STAR!!!!
Was nothing learned from the Huet mess?
Again, more outstanding comments…Tab, I think you nailed it…developing from within is the ONLY way to remain a championship calibre team year in and year out, without this “system” teams cannot afford to resign all of their FAs or pending FAs and franchises fall in and out of fashion.
Bowman is telling EVERY kid in our system, that we believe in you and will stick with you and reward you when you EARN it…there simply aren’t 2 better examples then Bickell and CC…both were 2nd round picks…both took a long time to develop…both paid their dues a little “over long” in the minors, both were given a legitimate shot to contribute and both stood tall on the biggest stage on Earth. You couldn’t write this story any better…
Ben Smith, Brandon Pirri, Jeremy Morin, Jimmy Hayes, Ryan Stanton, Adam Clendening et al have all been developed slowly, have all been taught the system, and now are all being given legitimate shots to become the next Bickell’s and Crawfords…its just a great concept and a great system ensuring the Hawks will continue to thrive…and if someone within the fold (like Stahlberg) doesn’t want to play the Hawks game, they are free to go and someone will step up and fill the space created…and on a team as good as the Hawks, these spaces don’t appear very often…and everyone in the system now knows that Teravainien has a spot waiting in a year, so that the spaces just got even less available. That screams to every prospect that they have to produce to make it and to stay…and its the same message for the bottom 6 on the Hawks…they must keep producing, improving or they can and will be replaced (see Dave Bolland). And right behind this crew stand kids like Danault (a Jean Belliveau type player), McNeil, Garret Ross, and Johns who are VERY close to being ready.
This is almost the identical system the Red Wings had under Bowman and we all know what they accomplished…its only now they are having a little “dip” in their success, and they just took us (the SC Champions) to a game 7 just to advance. That’s not a bad dip…
Jim, the Hawks definitely learned from the Huet mess, and they also learned from the Jimmy Howard success…first, they invested this money in CC because he has a prototype NHL body and athleticism, Huet didn’t…and CC is a flatliner…that is to say, he stays very calm…not too high and not too low…Huet was all over the place with his emotions. The only way CC could have rebounded from his performance in game 4 of the finals (and his lack of a glove hand) was to remain calm…practise, go over things with Waite, and be ready for the next game…and no one can argue with CCs performances in games 5 and 6. That’s why the Hawks felt comfortable giving CC this money over this time frame…he’s Jimmy Howard 2.0…and with a guy like Crawford, HE WILL ONLY GET BETTER…that’s the kicker that no one seems to be talking about…Crawford is only NOW hitting his stride and peak, and this is why I think we will repeat this year…Crawford’s even better play and our enormous organizational depth…I mean come on…Handzus and Roszival just kicking around whenever we need them??? That’s pretty amazing.
Wall, you’re right, as usual, but I think with CC the Hawks are certain he is another Jimmy Howard and this many years of Crow at this overall price is good value…remember, CC will only be hitting his prime right now, and for the next 4 or 5 years…add a guy like Raanta behind him so that he only has to play 55 games during the regular season, and that’s a recipe for deep playoff success. Remember with Rask in Boston, they did NOT just hand him the reigns and say go…even with incredible numbers as a backup, he remained just that behind Thomas, learning, growing in confidence, only to become a monster now…Raanta will likely follow the same path.
Great insight/banter everyone.
I wanted to mention (and Tab and Brad beat me to it) about this being a system and the guys who work hard and pay their dues get rewarded for it. Up until midway through the season I think the choice between Stalberg/Bickell probably would have gone the other way than it did. Stalberg was Bowman’s “baby” and Stan traded for him. However, he was shown the door when he wouldn’t commit to the Hawks way (his playoff performance didn’t help him). Bowman sent a message that day. I am not going to pay a cent for crap, even when I brought that crap here. Work hard, like Tab said maybe take a little bit less on your second contract, and you can get taken care of. Plus these payments seem about market rate. Bickell probably could have gotten more from another team. Crawford, if it is 6 mil, got a lot of money in year 1, 2, or 3; but if he plays like he did last year for 4 out of 6 years of this contract 6 mil could be a bargain…
Tab, thank you – good point (that I never considered). Sending that message is great – another plus for S.B..
Peter that’s whats great about Bowman…he hasn’t been the typical GM in that “this is my guy” and that player won’t get a shot because he was a “Tallon guy”…Bowman has been honest with the organization from top to bottom and promoted those that will work their tails off and take those cheap shots in the playoffs just to make a play to get the puck out of our zone…how much is Shaw worth to this organization now??? He was an overaged 5th round draft pick who didn’t get drafted the previous 2 years of elegibility…and he’s so good and valuable to us, we just traded Dave Bolland…that’s great on Shaw, but its also great on Bowman…and Garret Ross is a lot like Shaw…Ryan Hartman is a lot like Shaw…I like a team that has a lot of Andrew Shaw’s and not too many Victor Stahlberg’s (and I liked Stahlberg).
Another thought on Crawford.
Let’s look at what has the chance of happening in a 2 year span.
A LOT of goalies come into their own around 27-28.
He just won a cup and put up good enough numbers that he should have been the CS winner.
If he starts the season well, there is a pretty good chance he is the goalie for Team Canada at the Olympics. There is also a really good chance that Canada wins gold.
According to Vegas (and more importantly, me) there is a very good chance that the Hawks win the Cup again in 2014.
How much would Crawford be worth on the open market if he had a run like that? And yes, a lot of that might not happen, but if it does this deal is looking a whole lot better.
Brad……..I agree 100%……I want players who will get their nose broken or their cheek fractured, stay in the game and produce. I think that Stan saw what CC meant to this team in the playoffs and decided that he was “the guy” for the next few years. Plus, if you listen to the players, they love CC as their goalie. My belief is they love him because CC takes responsibility for every goal. He doesn’t blame anyone but himself. The players and the coaches love that type of player. Maybe more NHL goalies should look at CC for leadership.
I missed you boys all summer. We only have 13 days until camp opens!! This is going to be a tough year to defend because:
1. A short off season to recover.
2. The Olympics will take most of our team and we will not be able to rest.
3. Bolland and Fro will be tough to replace.
The Boston Who??? Let’s do it again!!!!
I agree with those who say SB has earned the right for us as fans to have faith in his moves. This is big money and maybe CC will earn every dime. That is the risk all teams face when giving a player without a 6-8 year track record of excellence a long expensive contract. The Hawks are banking on CC being a top 8 GT. If he is not, he will be hard to move.
I absolutely LOVE the move, consider me a Crow backer! Is it alot of money? Yes! Is it alot of years? Yes! Is it a very non Bowman type move? Yes! If anyone read Bowman’s comments they shouldnt be surprised this is their guy! They drafted him developed him and won a cup with him. Is Crow in “Elite” tender? The jury is out however he just beat some top teir guys this season. Out dualed them and can away a cup champ and a slighted Conn Smyth winner. Rask and Quick are “elite” beat them. Howard is as good as him and he beat him. Crow has won alot of games since wearing the Indian head so that a great sign! Go Hawks!
Most here know me as an ongoing CC skeptic who enjoyed the ride in 2012-13 and considered him worthy of CS consideration. Regardless- I would need at least 1 more year of improvement from Crawford before I’d pay him this type of coin. Is CC in the class of Renne, Quick, Renquist, etc? Last year you could say he was, the year before that he was not. Best comparison and relevant recent signing could be to the Coyotes Mike Smith (who shut down the Hawks in 2011-12 while CC was letting in the easy ones):
Smith: In 263 career regular season games, .913 with a goals-against average of 2.57 and 24 shutouts. In July signed 6 years for $34MM ($5.6 per year cap hit.)
CC: in 152 career games, .913 save percentage, a 2.40 goals-against average and eight shutouts.
Biggest differences are Smith has many more shutout wins (playing for far worse team), but Crawford has a Cup. As I posted earlier, looks like market rate for top goaltenders is $6-ish in NHL right now.. How will it turn out? We can only hope CC keeps trending for the better…
Just wanted to throw out there as a reminder the article I wrote 14 months ago about Crawford.
Blackhawks Goalies: Case Study Supports Corey Crawford
I updated his numbers in the comments at the bottom. Worth considering next to Jimmy Howard’s new deal.
Tab- Your article from 2012 was a great projection/hope for things to come for Crawford (ala “Jimmy Howard 2.0”), and it sure worked out in 2012-13… But the coin dished to CC is substantially more that the Wings gave Howard, consider 9again), the head to head:
Howard (April 2013): Signs six-year, $31.8 million dollars, $5.3 million per year. Career averages are a .917 SV% and a 2.39 GAA
CC: .913 save percentage, a 2.40 goals-against average. Six years $36 million, $6 million per year..
What am I missing on why this deal?
Negzz looks to me like they are similar stats and it’s only a 700K difference in price. So what is the point. Plus I don’t see were Howard was a stanley cup winning goalie.
Crawford’s deal makes me happy. I met Crow a few weeks ago and had the chance to have a brief conversation with him along with another guy. Comes across very impressive and bright. Physically speaking out of his pads he is pure athlete. He takes pride in his goaltending and his long journey to make it to this level. I trust Bowman implicitly with his decision to make Crow part of the core. What happens next season is that rationalization takes place on Sharp and his continuing value. And I suspect either Seabrook or Hjalmarsson gets moved. And there definitely will be a duel between Leddy and Clendening in terms of which one is with the Hawks over the next few years. Leddy will hopefully be a solid trade chip a year from now. Or Clendening will be. At any rate, I like how this thing comes together. We may not be serious Cup contenders “every” season…just like 2010-11 was a season of adjustment…but we will definitely be their for the foreseeable future and I think in an excellent position to hoist another Cup or two.
Bigsmoke: I guess that’s my point, their stats are similar and yet we pay CC $700k more? My view is the Hawks are a much better team than the Wings- particularly as a defensive team, where the Wings require Howard to shut down the opponent to win (which he did several times in theior playoff.) Many of us simply hold our collective breath and hope CC hold down the fort while our O bangs away at the opposing goalie. Because of the Hawks skill on O and “Team-D” concept, one could argue that Crow is not as valuable/good as many of those “comparables/stats” goalies and we should have been able to sign him for LOWER than a Howard/Smith if he wants to stick with the winning club. We then use the space on O and the D in front of the net. Instead we pay a premium for Crawford? I don’t get it and don’t like it, but will live with it with the hope a Cup brings to us all.. That said, better hope he doesn’t spend alot of time whiffing on easy glove saves ala the Boston series or it’s going to be a long 6 years…..
@Negzz, we know CC had a pretty good 1st year in 2010/11 but regressed in 2011/12 with what appeared to be a crisis of confidence. He bounced back last year and had an outstanding year, including under the pressure of all 23 games in the playoffs. I think most would argue that he should have won the Conn Smythe, including the Conn Smythe winner.
Here is the Howard/Crawford comparison from last season – regular season and playoffs:
Regular season:
Howard: .923 Sv% and 2.13 GAA
Crawford: .926 Sv% and 1.94 GAA
Playoffs:
Howard: .924 Sv% and 2.44 GAA
Crawford: .932 Sv% and 1.84 GAA
I’d rather have Crawford, even at the additional cost of $700K.
@Negzz it’s 700K to complain about that and say it’s too much is crazy. Bowman ad the organization believe CC has turned the corner and that last year will be the norm not the exception. I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
For an example lets look at these three goalies;
Reg Season
#1-games 138, sv% .927, GAA 2.15, cost 7.0M
#2-games 152, sv% .913, GAA 2.40, cost 6.0M
#3-games 153, sv% .920, GAA 2.36, cost 7.0M
Playoffs
#1- games 35, sv% .927, GAA 2.15
#2- games 37, sv% .924, GAA 2.04
#3- games 28, sv% .916, GAA 2.41
Those three goalies are;
Rask
Crawford
Rinne
I like the move. Yes, on the surface, the $$$ looks high, but if one of our other guys (whitney/carruth/rantaa) come along, we can maybe deal him later.
I know hes not as young as Schnieder, but teams will trade for a good goalie if they think it will make a difference to the franchise. Think of this… if in 3 years it looks like Stamkos is on the way out of Tampa, they would absoulutly make a trade to get a #1 goalie if it would help to convince him to stay.
If they dont develop, then we have our guy.
Yes, it probably means #10, or #7 will be gone sooner than later, but we have such organizational depth, we can probably afford it. We already have to try to figure out who will be playing where. TT and Danualt will be ready soon… and there are other guys who aren’t far behind (K Hayes, McNeil). The fact is that someone will have to be the “sacrificial lamb” of a roster spot if we want to see what these kids got.
Brent Seabrook has 3 years remaining on his current deal ($5.8M cap thru 2015-16 season).
First, this is the best site for discussing and reading about anything Blackhawks. Now here’s my take on Crawford. I get that shakey feeling with him in net that he might blow a lead and let in easy goals. Maybe it comes from me being a long time Cubs fan. But after watching many other teams in the playoffs I saw no real difference between Crawford and other top goalies. In 2010 Halak took the Canadiens the Conference finals yet was pulled at least twice that I can remember. Lindquist gave up leads, Quick was pulled, Rask gave up 6 goals in one game, etc etc… So after watching these games I found myself saying, it doesn’t just happen to us. The Fang Faction website for Nashville is doing cartwheels about this contract because of game 4 and a soft goal in one game. Whatever. For some reason some of us aren’t seeing Crawford in the same category as other goalies with similar statistics. If he’s consistent from this year on that should change.
Lundqvist