Hawks' top priority is re-signing Crawford

Some added depth up the middle?

Check.

How about some extra grit and toughness?

Absolutely.

While those are a couple of items on Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman to-do list this off-season, topping the list is re-signing rookie goaltender Corey Crawford.

“He's a top priority for us,” Bowman said. “He's earned the right to be a No. 1 goalie for us. Our team loves playing in front of him. He's got the right demeanor, right approach, a great attitude, loves to be in Chicago … he's clearly a priority for us.”

And why wouldn't he be? The kid put together a sparkling regular season (33-18-6, 2.30 goals-against average) and then was the main reason the Hawks took Vancouver to seven games in their Western Conference quarterfinals.

Crawford capped the series with what coach Joel Quenneville deemed, “One of the greatest goaltending performances in a clutch situation that you're going to see.”

“You talk about the way some of our players stepped up (in the playoffs) and Corey would have to be at the top of the list, looking at the way he performed,” Bowman said.

Though he is one of six Hawks who are restricted free agents (along with Troy Brouwer, Michael Frolik, Jake Dowell, Chris Campoli and Viktor Stalberg), Bowman sounded awfully confident that a deal with Crawford will get done sooner than later.

“It's nice to know going into next year that we're going to have some stability in goal,” Bowman said. “We still have to get him signed, but I'm very confident. He's a guy we're going to focus on right out of the gate.”

Just what Crawford wanted to hear.

“That's good,” Crawford said. “It's important when your management has confidence in you and they want you to be part of the organization. I want to be here, too.

“We're going to try and get something done that both sides are happy with. It'll be fun when it happens.”

To make it happen, the Hawks probably will have to pony up somewhere in the $1.8 million to $2.2 million per season range, similar to what Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard gets.

“It's exciting to play here, and I really want to be here next year,” Crawford said. “We'll see how things go.”

Until then Crawford will continue to soak in the season that was.

“It went by so fast that I didn't really think about it,” he said. “It was a lot of fun to reach this stage, especially here in front of this crowd.

“That's what I worked for — especially in the minors — to get to this point and I felt I took advantage of it.”