Per Scott Powers, The Blackhawks Have Offered Corey Crawford A 1 Year Extension For $3.5M Which Doesn't Make A Lot Of Sense To Me

Well there it is. The first news leak re: the roster from the new regime. Scott Powers is reporting a 1 year deal worth $3.5M to Corey Crawford to come back at age 36(when the season starts). Corey Crawford is the lynchpin to this to everything the Blackhawks want to do next year. I believe they want to compete. In fact, that is the only thing I am confident saying about the Blackhawks at this point. Who is charge? Who will be on the team? Will they bring back Connie's pizza as a concession staple? I know nothing except for the fact that I believe Danny Wirtz and his closest advisors want the Hawks in the playoffs.

The Hawks finished 12th in the regular season. Stan has said that the team will largely bring back the same group as they did last year. A team that needed ELITE level goaltending to finish 12th because as defensive team they were the worst in the league. If Corey Crawford wanted to test the open market I think it is safe to say he could get more than the $3.5M offered by the Blackhawks. It's a LARGE haircut for Crawford to stay home. It also doesn't solve anything for the Blackhawks really. I've talked about this here, but Scott Powers made a nice list in that blog of all the busts the Blackhawks have drafted at goalie over the last decade. A bunch of fucking Wooter Peeters or whatever that Belgian kid's name was who they drafted in the 3rd round and got cut by a USHL team and now he's playing in England. I, me, Barstool Chief could play in the English Hockey league right now and I haven't skated since I embarrassed myself at the Barstool Pond Hockey Tournament. Anyways, I am rambling now. My point is that there aren't any other good options this year for the Blackhawks, nor are their options next year. The cap is likely going to stay flat again and if the Blackhawks don't sign Crawford or he decides to retire or something the Hawks will be left over-paying for the Cam Talbots and fucking Petr Mrazeks of the world and finishing dead last in the NHL while wasting the end of Kane, Toews, and Keith. 

So...just give Crawford 2 years. Tell him thanks for his year's of service. Tell him he can either have 1 year at the bullshit 3.5 or he can take 2 years for 5 million. Then maybe meet in the middle, give him 2 years at $3M per season and call it a day. Clear some cap space, have some positional and cap security, and try to keep this thing on the rails as long as possible. Why they're throwing out a one year deal makes no sense to me. Lock him in for 2 and give yourselves some time to accurately plan for the future of the position because it's not something they can do in 12 months.