A new hope: Hawks' goalie Crawford makes first appearance at training camp

Chicagoans have laid their eyes on hundreds of masks over the past few months.

But only one had Blackhawks fans screaming with delight when it made its appearance at 10:25 a.m. Saturday.

Underneath it was the face of Corey Crawford, who practiced for the first time during this training camp at Fifth Third Arena and now has just one week to see if he can be ready to face the Edmonton Oilers in a best-of-five series that begins in Edmonton on August 1.

For two weeks, we wondered, pondered, dicussed and guessed what was keeping the two-time Stanley Cup winning goalie off the ice. Well, after practice was over Crawford wasted no time in letting us know that he did indeed contract the coronavirus.

“I was trying to stay as safe as possible with my family,” said Crawford, who said he and his family rarely went out. “It was actually a really big surprise that I tested positive.

“I was hoping to recover as quickly as possible (especially) hearing some people the symptoms can last for months. It seemed to go by fairly quick with pretty much flu-like symptoms.”

After testing positive, Crawford stayed in the guest room of his home and away from his wife, 2-year-old and newborn baby. Once he started feeling better, he wore a mask around the house and around the kids.

“The first few days I started feeling symptoms, that was the hardest,” Crawford said. “I couldn't really do much in case there was something wrong with my lungs or my heart.

So we had to get that checked out first before I really started pushing in the gym more or (I came) on the ice. All that has been done. The doctors did a good job.

“I think we were safe about it where we didn't put anyone else at risk. I'm just excited to be back on the ice and seeing pucks again.”

Crawford looked extremely quick and agile while doing drills with goaltending coach Jimmy Waite and other coaches before practice began. He later allowed 3 goals during one period of a 20-minute scrimmage.

“Today felt decent for the first time on the ice,” Crawford said. “I'm just going to try and build off of that. … It's just the cardio part, the endurance in the legs. After I get a few practices, that'll be a lot better.

Now the question is, can Crawford be ready in less than a week to face Connor McDavid and Co.?

Think about how many balls players hit getting ready for the baseball season. Or how many passes a quarterback throws getting ready for the football season.

Is a week of seeing pucks, reading plays and rediscovering your timing really enough?

Maybe. Maybe not.

But one thing the Hawks have going for them is that Crawford is very familiar and very comfortable with his team's systems and personnel.

“This isn't a new guy that's never played for this team,” said NHL Network analyst and former goalie Kevin Weekes, who appeared in 348 games from 1997-2009. “They know Crow and he knows them.

“So in terms of timing with defensemen and positioning and forwards helping out in the D-zone – none of that needs to be discovered. That chemistry is already in place.”

And honestly, isn't it worth taking a chance even if Crawford is only at 60-70 percent? After all, he was playing some of his best hockey down the stretch before the NHL paused its season March 12. In his final 20 apperances, Crawford was 10-9-1 with a .928 save percentage and 2.35 goals-against average.

If he can't go, the Hawks would be forced to play either:

• Malcolm Subban, who owns an .899 save percentage in 66 NHL games.

• Collin Delia, who has appeared in just 18 NHL games

• Or Kevin Lankinen, who would be making his NHL debut.

“Listen, if (Crawford's) right and he feels healthy enough to go – he'll go. It's that simple,” Weekes said. “If he's ready to go, I'm sure he'll tell coach Colliton, 'Yo. Get me in there. Let's roll.' He's earned the right to be able to say that if he feels that way.

“Now, if he doesn't feel right or if his conditioning is off or his strength feels off, he's not going to put the team in harm's way.

“Either way, I think this is a best-case scenario for the Hawks. Their young guys are going to be ready. … and your veteran ace has a chance to be ready as well, and at least he's going to be traveling with you.

“So if he's ready to go, it wouldn't surprise me to see him in the net.”