Chicago Blackhawks president and chief executive officer John McDonough said Thursday during a media scrum at the United Center that he’s “confident” goaltender Corey Crawford will be ready for the team’s training camp, which starts Sept. 14.
John McDonough says he’s “confident” that Corey Crawford will be ready for the start of training camp next week. Nothing concrete, though.
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) September 6, 2018
John McDonough said he’s unsure exactly what Corey Crawford’s status is. He said he knows Crawford has been working out on a regular basis. “So, we’ll find out shortly,” McDonough said.
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) September 6, 2018
Crawford, who has been sidelined since last December with a head injury and vertigo-like symptoms, told the media during the team’s annual convention in July — his first public appearance since the injury — that he’s “not 100 percent, yet.” He started just under one-third of the Hawks’ games and accounted for nearly half of the team’s 33 wins.
Corey Crawford says he’s not 100% yet. Wouldn’t speak on rumors re. why he missed time. #blackhawks pic.twitter.com/dDboXJNANt
— Scott King (@ScottKingMedia) July 27, 2018
Crawford’s injury timeline:
Dec. 17: Crawford takes a puck to the head against Minnesota, but stays in the game.
Dec. 21: Crawford lets in four goals on 22 shots as Dallas shuts out Chicago.
Dec. 23: Crawford gives up three goals on seven shots in a 4-1 loss to New Jersey, 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.
June 21: Bowman says he expects Crawford to be ready for training camp.
June 22: One day later, Quenneville backs Bowman’s stance saying he expects Crawford to be ready for training camp.
July 27: Crawford says at the team’s annual convention that he’s “not 100 percent yet,” in regards to his head injury.
In case Crawford isn’t ready to go, the Hawks signed veteran free agent goalie Cam Ward to a one-year contract worth $2.5 million during the offseason. The 34-year-old Ward posted a 23-14-4 record with a 2.73 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in 43 games last season with the Carolina Hurricanes. Chicago also Anton Forsberg and Rockford goalies Collin Delia and Kevin Lankinen, who signed a two-year deal in May, waiting for a call.