If there’s one issue in Chicago based on performances last year, it’s in goal. Both Corey Crawford and Ray Emery played very average and when you’re a team whose goal is to win the Stanley Cup, that’s just not going to get it done.
This offseason has seen one big name goalie made available through a trade in Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo and the Blackhawks apparently have interest. The question remaining here is: Why aren’t they making a bigger push to land him?
We know all about the Chicago-Vancouver rivalry and how the Blackhawks have found ways to get into Luongo’s head but when you boil down the numbers, Luongo makes Chicago perhaps the best team in the West.
If you take the numbers he put up last year in Vancouver and put a goalie of that caliber in the Windy City (.919 SV% , 2.41 GAA), suddenly Chicago isn’t just fighting for a playoff spot, they’re probably sitting atop the conference. Compare that to what Crawford did last season (.903 SV%, 2.72 GAA) and it’s a stark improvement.
Then again, the issue here might not be with Chicago, it could be all on Vancouver. After all, why would the Canucks want to find a way to help a chief rival out with a glaring issue? While the Blackhawks have reportedly dangled Dave Bolland to Vancouver, you’d have to imagine the price for Chicago to deal with them would be a bit higher.