While not necessarily a surprise, as it sure seemed like something was up, the announcement by Corey Crawford Saturday that he would be retiring after parts of 13 seasons in the NHL still came as a shock. Just three months ago, Crawford had signed a new two-year deal with the New Jersey Devils and seemed keen to continue goaltending outside of Chicago for the first time in his career. Several members of the Blackhawks have now reacted to his announcement.
"I'm not going to speak for him as to what went into his decision, why he decided to retire, but everyone has their reasons," Patrick Kane said. "Just what we saw from him last year, he was unbelievable in the second half of the season and the [Stanley Cup] Playoffs and the past 10 years. He played at such a high level consistently and was a big reason for our success."
Kane went on to reminisce about the two Stanley Cups the former teammates won together.
"Just his excitement and him throwing off his mask and seeing how excited he was as we were mobbing him after we won," Kane said. "It was always fun to see and relive those moments.
"He was always in a good mood, even when he was [ticked] off. If he got hit in the wrong place in practice or hit in the head or shots up high, he seemed to always be [ticked] off for a little bit and then you could see him smiling through his mask. Same thing off the ice. He always seemed to be in a good mood, always seemed to be a guy you could joke around with and make fun of, and same thing, give [it] back to you."
Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton also took some time to comment on Crawford's retirement.
"I've known Corey since we were juniors," Colliton said. " I don't know the circumstances for him, but you want everyone to have the opportunity to play as long as they want to. He was a huge part of the Blackhawks' success and I certainly enjoyed coaching him. It always makes the coach look better when the goaltender is stopping the pucks. Obviously, I'll be reaching out to him later, but wishing him and his family the best here."
"It feels recently there were so many times where he played so good and kept us in games where maybe we weren't at our best or the other team was coming at us hard and he was weathering the storm for us," Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith said. "That's the biggest thing I remember about him as a player and a teammate is the fact that you knew he was going to make those big saves and keep us in it. He was the No. 1 goalie here for a long time and gave exactly that for a long time."
Goalie Collin Delia has nothing but respect for Crawford.
"He was cordial, very friendly, a really good friend," Delia said. "I think that's a hallmark of him and his personality: He truly cared about the guys, the younger guys especially. He was always there to lend an ear if you wanted to talk about something. Talking the game with him, he kept it really simple, and that was good for me just coming into the League. To watch him do that night in and night out and talk about it, he really understood his game and helped me understand what I needed to do."
While a specific reason was never given for Crawford's retirement, he had not practised with the New Jersey Devils since January 1st and it was announced Friday he was taking an indefinite leave of absence for personal reason. A couple of years ago. Crawford suffered two concussions in a short span and missed significant time with each one.
Source: NHL.com
