The Blackhawks activated Crawford on Monday after he missed more than two months following his second concussion in less than a year in December.
Crawford suffered the concussion during a collision in the crease when his head hit the goalpost during a game against San Jose on Dec. 16 at the United Center. Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton said that night Crawford had a concussion and would go through the concussion protocol. The next morning, the Blackhawks placed Crawford on IR retroactively to Dec. 16.
Prior to his head injury, he was 6-14-2 with a 3.28 goals-against average and .902 save percentage in 23 games. He missed the first five games of the season as he was working his way back from his first concussion that caused him to miss 47 games last season.
The Blackhawks have yet to announce when Crawford will make his return. They’re five points back of Minnesota for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference and begin a three-game road trip Wednesday in Anaheim.
In a corresponding move, the Blackhawks re-assigned rookie netminder Collin Delia to the AHL. Delia was brought up to the NHL in December on an “emergency basis” and went 6-4-3 with a 3.48 GAA and .909 save percentage in 15 games. His strong showing led the Blackhawks to signing him to a three-year contract extension worth $3 million on Feb. 11.
Delia will take over the No. 1 goalie duties for the Rockford IceHogs, who are in a Calder Cup playoff spot in fourth place in the Central Division. Rockford visits the Chicago Wolves in a divisional tilt Tuesday at Allstate Arena in Rosemont.