The Chicago Blackhawks have placed goaltender Jean-Francois Berube on waivers, reports Renaud Lavoie of TVASports.
Berube, 26, is 2-5-1 with a 3.93 goals-against average and .891 save percentage in 11 games this season for Chicago. The 6-foot-1, 177-pound netminder started the season in the AHL with the Rockford IceHogs, where he posted a 7-8 record with a 2.37 GAA. He was recalled to Chicago on Feb. 15, and made his debut in a 3-1 win over San Jose on Feb. 23. Berube joined the Hawks by signing a two-year free agent contract with the Hawks last July.
Berube gained the call up after starting goaltender Corey Crawford went down with an injury and other backups Anton Forsberg and Jeff Glass struggled. The 33-year-old Crawford hasn’t played since Dec. 23. He’s 16-9-2 with a 2.27 GAA and .929 save percentage in only 28 games this season. Crawford hasn’t practiced and been on the ice since Feb. 12, so this likely points to Glass being recalled, according to Mark Lazerus of The Chicago Sun-Times.
The Hawks have five games remaining this season and have already been eliminated from playoff contention for the first time in nine years. Chicago sits in 24th place in the 31-team NHL field with 72 points before Tuesday’s games. The Hawks are off until Thursday, when they host Winnipeg.