Corey Crawford signs three-year deal with Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers sign Christian Thomas: NHL
Corey Crawford
Chicago Blackhawks was quite amazing last season when it went on to lift the Stanley Cup. This season all it can do is watch who takes the crown as it is out and cannot defend the title.
Hawks, during the current season, was able recognize a player who has immense potential and did a lot of hard work to bring success to Hawks, Corey Crawford.
As a result of his superb performances during last season, he was offered a contract that he accepted. The contract is worth $8 million that gives the 26-year-old goalkeeper a platform that can very well be converted into a big stage by the goalie given
that the Hawks is a very big team.
"It was a top priority for us to sign Corey and I can say I was confident all along that we'd get him signed", Chicago’s Vice-President/General Manager, Stan Bowman, said. "We had discussions with his agent and we wanted him back and, when that's the case,
these deals get done. He made it clear he wanted to remain a Blackhawk".
With this, the news of the starting goalkeeper for next season also came and undoubtedly Crawford was named the starting goalie.
"The new deal won't change my off-season preparation", Crawford said. "I'll try and be in the best shape that I can be … get stronger and quicker”.
The brilliance of this goalie is evident of the fact that he posted 176:09 minutes on ice without conceding a goal to write his name in history for becoming the goalie to maintain a clean-sheet for the longest time. The record was previously held by Tony
Esposito in 1972.
Crawford came up with a decent performance during the course of the season as he was the leader in the list of rookie goalkeepers with 30 wins to his name.
Crawford was the number 52 overall draft pick by the Hawks in 2003. He made his debut in the 2005-06 season during which he maintained a record of 34 wins, 21 losses and 12 overtime wins. Coupled with these were the 0.917 saves percentage and 2.33 goals
against average that he bagged.
Christian Thomas
The New York Rangers revealed this Thursday that they signed Christian Thomas, son of a former National Hockey League forward, Steve Thomas.
Thomas has been playing in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) where he scored a total of 54 goals, ending the season on a total point’s tally of 99 points in 66 games.
He was picked by the Rangers in the second round as the number 40 pick last year.
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