New Jersey Devils: Corey Crawford Is An Extremely Smart Signing

In another move this week, New Jersey Devils General Manager Tom Fitzgerald signed former Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford. The former two-time Stanley Cup champion had some injury troubles over the past three years, but when healthy he was playing strong. This season, he was a big reason the Blackhawks made the extended playoff set up.

Over the last five seasons, Crawford has averaged a 2.67 goals against average and had a .919 save percentage. These numbers are absolutely above anything the Devils have been getting from any of their goaltenders. Last season, the Devils backup goalies managed a record of 6-15-4. This is not remotely good enough to move the team in a positive direction.

The team as a whole was not good, but a large chunk of the blame can be laid on the defensive side and goaltending. Cory Schneider, who was recently bought out of the last two years of his contract, has been one of the worst in the league for years and last season had  a 3.53 Goals against average with a .887 save percentage. Louis Domingue was even worse in the net, averaging even more goals against a game at 3.79 and had a horrendous .882 save percentage.

These stats were good for the third and fourth worst GAA in the entire league, only behind an old Jimmy Howard on the leagues worst Detroit Red Wings and former Devil Keith Kinkaid. No team can expect to succeed with poor goaltending for a good chunk of the season and a change was needed, the numbers prove that and anyone who watched this team would agree.

The last time the Devils made a big run was aided a ton by  solid goaltending by Keith Kinkaid and some massive breakouts from other players. Kinkaid that season was pulling off a 2.77 GAA with a .913 save percentage and was big talk around Devils fans after MVP Taylor Hall. Crawford has shown over the last five years that he can be a catalyst for a team’s big run and has had better numbers than starter Mackenzie Blackwood even in his two seasons.

The veteran presence on top of still being able to play at a high level mixed in with a young star in Blackwood will go a long way for this team. Crawford will be able to play the backup roll putting less wear and tear on his body, likely leading to good results, while the Devils can expect to have a reasonable chance to win in any game this season regardless of who is in net.

For two years at $3.9 million a season, this was an absolutely amazing move by the Devils. It fills a huge need and will allow both goalies to thrive this season and win more games. With wins will come confidence for all our younger players and this will impact the entire roster.