The Chicago Blackhawks shook up their goaltender situation Thursday by recalling Jean-Francois Berube from the AHL to replace Jeff Glass, who was reassigned to Rockford after clearing waivers unclaimed.
Glass was placed on waivers by the Blackhawks a day ago after a brutal stretch that’s helped closed the door on the team’s playoff hopes. The 32-year-old journeyman unsurprisingly went unclaimed after posting a .898 save percentage in 14 appearances with Chicago.
The absence of Corey Crawford has been a major blow to the team, which has struggled to find an adequate way to replace him. Anton Forsberg and Glass had been performing serviceably for a while with near league-average numbers, but the wheels have come off in recent games with a number of soft goals.
Berube, 26, has spent much of the 2017-18 season sidelined due to injury, but he recently returned to the IceHogs in strong form by recording 54 saves on 58 shots in his last two AHL games. He appeared briefly in relief of one Hawks game earlier this season and has a .899 career save percentage in 22 NHL appearances.
At this point, the Hawks remain mum on whether Crawford will return from injury this season, but it would make sense to use the final 25 games to evaluate Forsberg and Berube as potential backup options for next season.