Corey Crawford’s 17-year Blackhawks tenure unofficially ended Thursday, but officially ended Friday.
Crawford signed a two-year contract with a $3.9 million cap hit with the Devils late Friday night, roughly 12 hours after his unrestricted free agency began.
The Devils had bought out Cory Schneider earlier in the offseason, creating a vacancy in their goaltending tandem alongside 2019-20 rookie Mackenzie Blackwood.
The 35-year-old will have a good chance to be New Jersey’s starting goalie for opening night of the 2020-21 season, whenever that occurs.
After 488 regular season and 96 postseason starts, becoming the first-ever Hawks to win multiple Stanley Cups along the way, Crawford’s long run as the No. 1 goaltender in Chicago ended emotionally Thursday.
“He’s up there with the legends of the Blackhawks,” general manager Stan Bowman said. “Looking back at his career trajectory, he never got the proper recognition early on. We had such star-studded teams. Corey was fantastic back in 2013 when we beat the Bruins. His importance to our team grew and grew, going to the 2015 team.”