The eighth goaltender to win 100 games for the Chicago Blackhawks, Crawford in 2011-12 became the first Chicago goalie to have back-to-back 30-win seasons since Ed Belfour (1992-94). Crawford's 33 wins in 2010-11 were the most by a Blackhawks goalie since Jocelyn Thibault won 33 games in 2001-02.
The Blackhawks selected Crawford in the second round (No. 52) of the 2003 NHL Draft. At the time, Crawford was with Moncton of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, where he played four seasons from 2001-05. In 2003-04 Crawford won a league-high 35 games and helped Moncton reach the President's Cup final. He was a league-best 13-6 in 20 postseason games.
The eighth goaltender to win 100 games for the Chicago Blackhawks, Crawford in 2011-12 became the first Chicago goalie to have back-to-back 30-win seasons since Ed Belfour (1992-94). Crawford's 33 wins in 2010-11 were the most by a Blackhawks goalie since Jocelyn Thibault won 33 games in 2001-02.
The Blackhawks selected Crawford in the second round (No. 52) of the 2003 NHL Draft. At the time, Crawford was with Moncton of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, where he played four seasons from 2001-05. In 2003-04 Crawford won a league-high 35 games and helped Moncton reach the President's Cup final. He was a league-best 13-6 in 20 postseason games.
Crawford led Norfolk of the American Hockey League with 22 wins in 2005-06. He appeared in two games with the Blackhawks that season, making his NHL debut in relief Jan. 22, 2006, against the Minnesota Wild. Crawford's first NHL start was in a 6-5 shootout loss to the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 2, 2006. He was second in the AHL with 38 wins for Norfolk in 2006-07.
Crawford went 1-2-0 with a 2.14 GAA and .929 save percentage in five games for the Blackhawks in 2007-08. He got his first NHL win and shutout March 5, 2008, making 19 saves in a 3-0 victory against the Anaheim Ducks.
He made his Stanley Cup Playoff debut May 24, 2009, in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final against the Detroit Red Wings, stopping six of seven shots in 11:51 of relief duty. He made only one NHL appearance over the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons, but he won 46 games over that span for Rockford of the AHL.
Crawford would play 57 games for the Blackhawks each of the next two seasons. He tied for the lead among NHL rookies with four shutouts in 2010-11 and had a 176:09 shutout streak from Jan. 7-15, 2011. Crawford also tied a Blackhawks rookie record with eight straight wins from Feb. 20-March 5, 2011. He and teammate Ray Emery combined to allow the fewest goals in the 2012-13 regular season (102) and shared the William M. Jennings Trophy. Crawford ranked third in the League with a 1.94 goals-against average that season and went 16-7 in the playoffs as Chicago won the Stanley Cup. He had 32 victories in 2013-14.
In 2014-15 he went 32-20-5 with a 2.27 GAA and .924 save percentage, helping Chicago tie Montreal for the fewest goals allowed in the NHL (189). Crawford earned the win in his first NHL All-Star Game on Jan. 25, 2015. He went 13-6 in 20 playoff games in helping Chicago win another championship in 2015.
In 2015-16 he led the NHL with seven shutouts. He also had three shutouts in four games (Dec. 11-17, 2015), becoming the first Blackhawks goaltender to do so since Tony Esposito (Feb. 13-20, 1974).
Crawford went 32-18-4 in 2016-17, his fourth straight season with at least 32 victories.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- QMJHL Second All-Star Team (2004, 2005)
- NHL All-Rookie Team (2011)
- Played in NHL All-Star Game (2015, 2017)
- Signed as a free agent by New Jersey, October 9, 2020.
