Verdi: Blackhawks' Crawford finally getting some respect

Corey Crawford once wondered whether he would make it to the National Hockey League.

Now, as the No. 1 goalie in the middle of a career-defining season with the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks, he is receiving overdue respect. Meanwhile, all he does is win.

Q. With two Stanley Cups on your resume and seven shutouts before this year's All-Star break, are you now getting a lot of attention for not getting enough attention?

A. (Laugh.) I'd rather stay under the radar. We have a lot of great players on this team. I don't mean that I don't care. It's definitely nice to be recognized. It feels good when fans are yelling your name. I spent five years in the minors.

Lots of times I thought, "This isn't happening." I'd be lying if I said I didn't have doubts. "Maybe I'm not good enough for Chicago or the NHL." Plenty of times I thought, "Maybe I'll have to go play in Russia or Europe. Maybe I'm just not good enough."

Q. A lot of fans in Chicago were upset that, despite a strong first half, you were excluded from the All-Star Game. But did you really miss being in net for a 3-on-3 format?

A. It would have been nice to go to Nashville. But as it was, I got some rest and some sun. As for the new 3-on-3 format, it was designed to show off skills. Goalies don't matter. Besides, look at it the opposite way. If they centered the game on defense, where goalies didn't have to do much, would that be exciting? Probably not.

Q. As a veteran member in the brotherhood of masked men, what's your take on the chant that the NHL needs more scoring?

A. I don't know. One idea is that they should make the nets bigger. I don't think it's right if you make them so big that certain shots are almost automatic. I don't know how big they're talking, but do you want to reach a point where a shooter gets to a certain spot and the goalie has almost no chance, where a goalie can't possibly stretch out to make a save?

Q. Tony Esposito, the Blackhawks' Hall of Fame ambassador, suggested making the crossbar and the posts narrower, even by one inch.

A. That would probably make a difference. But you have to realize goalies have been playing in front of a net with the same dimensions forever. A lot of playing our position is learning angles. We've been playing those angles our whole lives.

Q. What about the equipment? Like the pads.

A. They could do that, but that's already been done two lockouts ago. And what happens is that you have more goalies who are more athletic and bigger. Goalies are bigger now than they used to be, anyway. All the players are bigger. People are bigger, even people who don't play sports.

Q. Can you fathom that one of your predecessors as a Blackhawks goalie was Darren Pang? He was 5 feet, 5 inches, and maybe 155 pounds.

A. (Laugh.) I know. How did he do it? I have lots of respect for him. I grew up in Montreal watching Patrick Roy, who was fairly tall and athletic. He was the king.

Q. Despite all this talk, isn't the NHL product good?

A. I would say so. Whatever goalies say, the powers that be are going to do what they want to do. If they want to make changes, there will be changes. You just hope they don't get too drastic. The most exciting games are when there is a lot of speed, skill and scoring chances.

Chances - not necessarily goals. You can have a 2-1 game like so many of our playoff games, and they're great. Back and forth, big hits, everything. And you can have a 10-9 game that's boring.

Q. You talk a lot about the benefit of experience and how it makes you better. What exactly is helpful about facing more and more shots, year after year? Doesn't playing arguably the toughest position in sports grind you down?

A. The more you play, the more you have visual memorization. You see many of the same players again and again, the same teams. You learn how to read plays, anticipate. You learn tendencies. Plus, you learn how to deal with adversity.

Q. Selective amnesia?

A. Yeah, you have to learn that, absolutely. Earlier in my career, I was pretty fragile after playing a bad game or giving up a bad goal. Even early in my NHL career. And that might lead to another bad goal or bad game before you work yourself out of it. You can't let a bad goal affect you. Or any goal.

You have to let it go. The most important thing after you give up a goal is the next shot. That stands for the next shot after a big save too. You can't get too complacent, too comfortable. That's happened to me too.

Q. It's hard to imagine a goalie ever being comfortable.

A. It can happen. Maybe that word I used, "comfortable," isn't quite accurate. But if you lose even a little of your edge, it can make a difference. It's always about the next shot.

Q. Are you aware that Esposito and Glenn Hall, another Hall of Famer, both say they don't miss one minute of playing in goal?

A. (Laugh.) Tony played a long time. He had 15 shutouts in his rookie year wearing those little brown pads. Glenn Hall, all those games in a row without wearing a mask. Amazing. I'm not there yet. It's still fun.

But think about it. Even before you play in the NHL, you play all those games growing up. Then it starts to get competitive and you think about how it might turn into something, a career. Think about all the shots you take, all the pucks you face, including practice.

Q. But pucks in practice don't matter.

A. They don't matter? What do you mean they don't matter? Just because they don't count in the standings or on the scoreboard? Guys practice hard. You get hit in the head or in the ribs during practice, it matters. It still hurts. You still feel it.

"So, yeah, I can see how guys like Esposito and Hall can retire happily ever after. But like I said, I'm not near there yet. Still having too much fun.

Q. That's the second time you've mentioned "fun." You were pulled after giving up four first-period goals against the Dallas Stars at the United Center in early February. Was that fun?

A. Competing is fun. Playing the game is fun. Every time you step on the ice, it's fun. Obviously, that game you mentioned wasn't fun.

Q. One reason you've earned respect is that you never throw anybody under the bus. You don't glare at a teammate after a mistake. Every goal is your fault, even if it isn't your fault.

A. That's a strong word, fault. It's hard enough to play this game. You don't need your goalie screaming at you or criticizing you. I watch the game, how incredibly fast it is, how tough it is, particularly for our defensemen. I used to get (ticked) off at guys in junior.

But there are so many plays in a game, so many games. So a guy gets burned at the blue line. So a guy gives the puck up. He knows it. He doesn't need me to remind him. You wind up realizing you don't play the only difficult position out there.

Q. You play behind some terrific defensemen.

A. Duncan Keith. A special character, a special player. He's different, one of a kind with a few different personalities. (Laugh.) Sometimes completely normal during a conversation.

Other times … Brent Seabrook, great team guy, tough, seems to score big goals in the playoffs. Solid. Real solid. Niklas Hjalmarsson, one of the best sticks in the league. Poking pucks away. Corners, blue line. Blocks shots. Fearless.

We have a great group here. Everybody. Never content. We never really talk about it, either. But you sense that this group wants to do something really special before we're done.

• Editor's note: As part of an alliance with the Blackhawks, the Daily Herald offers occasional reports by Team Historian Bob Verdi, who writes for the team's website at www.chicagoblackhawks.com.