With the NHL and NHLPA officially announcing the plans for a return beginning August 1st, teams around the league have opened up training camps and have begun practice.
That included the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday. The Blackhawks took the ice on Monday morning as they begin preparation for their qualifying round series against Edmonton which begins on August 1st. But while the team took the ice one noticeable player was missing.
Goalie Corey Crawford was not in attendance and later head coach Jeremy Colliton revealed why that was by saying Crawford was deemed ‘unfit to play’ at the moment:
Corey Crawford "unfit to play" right now, per Jeremy Colliton. Remember, teams cannot comment on absences beyond that.
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) July 13, 2020
It’s easy to speculate what it could be but the Blackhawks are not permitted to release that information. Either way, it’s not good for a Blackhawks team that was hoping to pull off an early-round upset.
Colliton did reveal that the team will have a competition at goalie with Crawford being sidelined, which also doesn’t sound good because each of these names below are a drop-off:
Colliton said Subban, Delia, Lankinen and Tomkins will all compete at goalie. Colliton said he wasn't able to provide any further info on Crawford.
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) July 13, 2020
There’s no timetable for a return on Crawford but as it stands now, it’s unlikely he’s back anytime soon and that could spoil some things for the Blackhawks chances.
Check back with ChiCitySports for more on the Blackhawks as they return to the ice and prepare for their best-of-five series vs. Edmonton that begins on August 1st.
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