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I cant see Crow here for the long term. Anti Niemi had just won the cup and an arbitrator set his salary at 2.75 and they declined. I think Crawfords cap hit is 2.66 this season, and with them being able to keep Raanta next season for about what Crow got when Niemi left, I think the same thing will happen. We will not see a 4-7 million dollar goaltender in chicago nets.
If Raanta is the real deal in Rockford or if Simpson or Carruth make a monster stride this year (which I doubt), I'll be okay with letting Crawford go for a cap hit greater than 5 million. Otherwise, I think they have to keep him.
Let's keep in mind, that on this team Crawford doesn't have to be a top 5 goalie. All Crawford has to do, is just be good enough. And good enough is exactly what he did last year, actually he was damn good. Better than what Niemi was in 2010.
But Crawford usually sees so many fewer shots than most team's goalies due to the Hawks defense, the blocked shots and the offensive puck possession time that he only needs to make the saves he is supposed to make and a few more than that which may be on the slightly very good to spectacular side.
He signed in Sweden, I don't know if he's going to be in North America. He's going to be 30 this fall.