When word surfaced that the Chicago Blackhawks made some AHL swaps, people wondered if there’d be more moves. There’s at least one on Sunday, as Scott Darling signed a two-year contract extension with the team.
The financial terms weren’t revealed, but the contract covers the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.
This happening doesn’t quell the rumors that another move might happen, however. Could there be a ripple effect in Chicago’s net?
Are they going to trade Crawford? Or Raanta? This is very odd timing. #Blackhawks
— Brian Hedger (@BrianHedger) February 23, 2015
Stan Bowman told me last month that he fully expected to keep both Antti Raanta and Scott Darling next year. Starting to wonder about that.
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) February 23, 2015
In case you’re wondering, here are some stats for Chicago’s (current?) three goalies of most relevance:
Corey Crawford, 30 years old: 23-14-4, .918 save percentage, 2.36 GAA and one shutout.
Antti Raanta, 25: 7-4-1, .936, 1.89 and 2 SO.
Scott Darling, 26: 5-2-0, .937, 1.97 and zero SO.
Not exactly poor work from Chicago’s goalies, especially the backups, although perhaps the Blackhawks are concerned about a recent slump? It could mean more in the future, but perhaps it’s just a simple backup swap.
Either way, it seems like Darling might have a brighter future in Chicago than Raanta, at least at the moment.