The Chicago Blackhawks expect goaltender Corey Crawford to return in time for training camp this fall, general manager Stan Bowman said during a conference call Thursday.
It was the first time Bowman has talked about Crawford’s health status since April 9, when the Hawks had their end of season locker room clean out day.
Here’s the timeline for Crawford’s injury:
Dec. 23: Crawford gives up three goals in seven shots in a 4-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils, getting pulled in the first period. It would be his final game of the season.
Dec. 27: Crawford is placed on injured reserve. No word was given on the injury.
Dec. 28: Coach Joel Quenneville tells reporters that Crawford will be out for “a bit,” with an upper-body injury.
Jan. 16: Chicago Sun-Times’ reporter Mark Lazerus cites three team sources, saying that Crawford was dealing with vertigo-like symptoms and could miss the rest of the season.
Jan. 23: Crawford had an off-ice workout for the second straight day, leading to Quenneville expressing optimism about Crawford returning after the all-star break.
Feb. 12: Crawford participates at a morning skate for the first time since his injury.
Feb. 21: Quenneville won’t say the Hawks are shutting Crawford down, but a different tone in his expression is noted.
April 9: General manager Stan Bowman tells reporters at the end-of-season press conference that he expects Crawford to return to his old form.
Stan Bowman on the secrecy surrounding Corey Crawford: “There’s no gag order. We handle Corey’s situation as we’ve handled every other player. We never go into specifics on injuries.”
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) June 21, 2018
Crawford’s injury was one of the main reasons the Hawks (33-19-10) missed the playoffs for the first time in 11 seasons.
He missed the final 47 games with a head injury. Before suffering what proved to be a season-ending injury around Christmas, Crawford had the second-best save percentage in the NHL among No. 1 goalies at .929.
In the final 47 games of the season, Anton Forsberg, Jeff Glass, J-F Berube, Collin Delia and, yes even Scott Foster combined to post a .901 save percentage.
Bowman also said the the Hawks are looking improve their No. 2 goalie situation.
Stan Bowman on the No. 2 goalie situation: “We’ll have some discussions to see if we can improve in that area. It’s too early to tell if we can. “
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) June 21, 2018