The Chicago Blackhawks were back on the ice Monday for their first summer camp practice ahead of their return to play later this summer, but they were without goaltender Corey Crawford for the workout.
Crawford, who did not participate in the team’s voluntary “Phase Two” workouts earlier this month, was once again out of action on Monday. Per NHL rules, the team will not comment on the reasons behind Crawford’s absence, but head coach Jeremy Colliton said that the netminder is “unfit to play” at this time.
The Blackhawks have four other goaltenders in camp, including Malcolm Subban, Collin Delia, Kevin Lankinen and Matt Tomkins. According to G.M. Stan Bowman, all four goaltenders will have the opportunity to compete for playing time while Crawford is out of action. Per The Athletic’s Scott Powers:
In 40 games during the 2019-20 season, Crawford posted a 16-20-3 record with a 2.77 goals against average and a .917 save percentage. Largely sharing the net with Robin Lehner prior to the February trade that sent him to Las Vegas, Crawford stepped up and was the team’s starter until the coronavirus stopped the NHL season in March.
Per the NHL’s agreement with the NHLPA, teams are not allowed to disclose player injuries or illnesses during the “return to play” protocol, and are only permitted to specify that a player is “unfit to play.”
