The New Jersey Devils have signed goaltender Corey Crawford of Montreal, Quebec to a two-year contract worth $7.8 million according to nhl.com. Crawford is changing National Hockey League franchises for the first time in his NHL career. He played his previous 13 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks.
In 2019-20, Crawford had a record of 16 wins and 20 losses, one shutout, with a goals against average of 2.77 and a save percentage of .917. Crawford’s shutout came in a 3-0 Chicago win over the Dallas Stars on November 26.
In his 13 years in Chicago, Crawford won the William M. Jennings Trophy twice. In those seasons he had a goals against average of 1.94 in 2012-13, and 2.37 in 2015-16. Crawford also led the NHL with seven shutouts in 2015-16.
Crawford got off to a great start in his NHL career. In his rookie season in 2010-11, he had a record of 33 wins, 18 regulation losses, and six losses in extra time with four shutouts, a goals against average of 2.30, and a save percentage of .917. Crawford also represented the Blackhawks at the 2015 and 2017 NHL All-Star Games, and won a Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2013 and 2015. In both of those playoff runs, he led the NHL with 16 and 13 postseason wins respectively.
The fact that the Blackhawks decided to re-sign Malcolm Subban and let Crawford go to the Devils was an interesting choice. Subban struggled mightily in 2019-20 while with the Vegas Golden Knights before joining the Blackhawks during the season. He only had a goals against average of 3.18 and a save percentage of .890 in 20 games.
