Corey Crawford

Corey Crawford (born December 31, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Nicknamed "Crow" by teammates and fans, he played his entire professional career with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL), who selected him in the second round, 52nd overall, of the 2003 NHL Draft. Crawford made his NHL debut for Chicago in 2006 and played with the team through the 2019–20 NHL season. He won the Stanley Cup and William M. Jennings Trophy twice with the Blackhawks in 2013 and 2015.

Crawford was drafted 52nd overall in the 2003 NHL entry draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. He spent his pre-junior career playing for the Midget AAA Gatineau Intrépides, before spending his junior career with the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Crawford was the goaltender for the Wildcats in the 2003–04 QMJHL playoffs, when they ousted the Rimouski Océanic in the semi-finals to advance to the President's Cup final, but lost that series to the Gatineau Olympiques. Crawford currently holds the Wildcats record for lowest goals against average (GAA) (2.47 in 2004–05), most wins (35 in 2003–04) and is tied with Simon Lajeunesse for most shutouts in a season (six in 2004–05). He was twice named to the QMJHL's Second All-Star team (2003–04, 2004–05). The Wildcats retired Crawford's No. 29 on November 24, 2023.

Crawford spent the first five years of his professional career in the American Hockey League (AHL) from 2005 to 2010.

Crawford made his AHL-debut for the Norfolk Admirals, then the AHL-affiliate of the Blackhawks on October 14, 2005. After spending most of his first two professional seasons with the Admirals, Crawford spent most of the next three seasons playing for the Blackhawks new AHL-affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. He appeared in 255 AHL games from 2005–2010, where he went 135–98–13 as a starter, with a 2.78 GAA, .908 save percentage, and eight shutouts. The IceHogs retired Crawford's No. 29 on February 12, 2024.

Crawford made his NHL debut with the Blackhawks halfway into the 2005–06 season on January 22, 2006, against the Minnesota Wild. He relieved Adam Munro in the third period, made seven saves and did not allow any goals. He recorded his first career start against the St. Louis Blues on February 2. He finished the evening with five goals allowed and 29 saves in a 6–5 shootout loss.

On February 23, 2008, Crawford was recalled to the Blackhawks after starting goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin was sidelined due to a back injury. During his brief stint with the Blackhawks, Crawford recorded his first career win and shutout in a 3–0 win against the Anaheim Ducks on March 5. Crawford also recorded a strong performance against the Detroit Red Wings, stopping 45 of 47 shots in a 3–1 loss on March 11. After playing in five games for the Blackhawks, Khabibulin was activated from the injured reserve, making Crawford no longer needed resulting in him being reassigned to Rockford for the remainder of the 2007–08 season.

The Blackhawks re-signed Crawford to a one-year deal on July 21, 2008. Crawford was recalled from the (AHL) on November 28 to take the place of Nikolai Khabibulin, who had been injured two nights earlier but didn’t play and served as a backup on the bench. After the 2008–09 season concluded, Crawford was recalled to the Blackhawks as the team's emergency goaltender for the 2009 playoffs. With starting goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin injured, Crawford made his Stanley Cup playoffs debut on May 24, 2009, in the second period of game four of the Western Conference Finals against the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings, replacing Cristobal Huet. He stopped six of seven shots before being replaced by Huet after the second period and the Blackhawks would go on to lose the game 6–1 for a 3–1 deficit in the series. Crawford would back up Huet for game five which saw the Blackhawks lose the game 2–1 for a 4–1 defeat in the series against the second-seeded and defending champion Red Wings.

For the 2009–10 season, Crawford played a single game for the Blackhawks which came towards the end of the season on March 17, 2010, when he was called up from Rockford by the Blackhawks due to Cristobal Huet having the flu and he played that day against the Anaheim Ducks, which the Blackhawks were defeated 4–2. Crawford also suited up for the following game the following day against the Los Angeles Kings where the Blackhawks would clinch a 3–0 shutout win before getting sent back down to Rockford but Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville opted for Antti Niemi to play in the game instead and for Crawford to serve as the backup on the bench. For the 2010 playoffs, Antti Niemi backstopped the Blackhawks to their first Stanley Cup in 49 years in a six game series win against the Philadelphia Flyers in the finals. Due to playing only one game in the regular season and none in the playoffs, Crawford did not qualify to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup but did receive a championship ring and took part in the Stanley Cup parade.