You are an idiot to compare the 2.

Crawford helped lead his team to a Cup and could have easily been the MVP.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

He's always done that. He doesn't usually get caught behind the net like that but he is always back there. I think it's bad. Some of you guys say it's a good thing and it's like having another defenseman. I think it stops the puck, sometimes stops the defenseman's momentum, and he's back there and not in position.

He should have been the MVP in 2013...

but we should have won it last year too. Not his fault.

He's injured. He had been playing better under Jimmy Waite's coaching than Steve Weeks's last year. He just hasn't looked right since he came back. I don't know whether he's still mentally rusty or what, but that twice in two games that he's gotten caught behind his net like that. I don't like it. They've been playing behind way too much lately.

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Elections have consequences.

In the post lockout era most of the goalis that have won cups have been guys. Not sure why he is their 3rd highest paid player. I think they could win the cup without him. There are at least 4 players that if they didn't have for the playoffs they would have no chance at the cup. His cap number is going to cost them a key guy this summer

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"YOU GOTTA BE BLEEPING ME"

Let's see.
2006 - Cam Ward - just a guy, got hot then, got bad now
2007 - Jean-Sebastien Giguere - elite at the time, but that Anaheim defense was tenacious
2008 - Dominik Hasek - all-timer
2009 - Marc-Andre Fleury - This guy gets too much shit. Played himself out of the playoffs against the Isles in 2013 but he's still a good goalie.
2010 - Antti Niemi - just a guy
2011 - Tim Thomas - was elite at the time
2012 - Jonathan Quick - elite
2013 - Corey Crawford
2014 - Jonathan Quick - elite, had a bad postseason

For fun, their losing counterparts:
2006 - Jussi Markkanen - Just a guy, played because Dwayne Roloson, also just a guy, got hurt
2007 - Ray Emery - very good before his hip went necrotic
2008 - Marc-Andre Fleury - see above
2009 - Chris Osgood - oh brother, the just-a-guy goalie to end all just-a-guy goalies
2010 - Michael Leighton - HOW THE FUCK
2011 - Roberto Luongo - never as good as advertised but still among the best in the league as long as he wasn't facing the Blackhawks
2012 - Martin Brodeur - all-timer
2013 - Tuukka Rask - top 5 at one point, top 10 now
2014 - Henrik Lundqvist - perennially elite

Overall I'd say that while goalies aren't critical, I'd like for him to be more than "just a guy."

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Stay on topic here...we're talking about Crawford now...& he isn't good. You watch the games. What have you seen? Do you think he has played well? He has been fucking awful. He has regressed. Something is wrong & it needs to be fixed or Q will fix it.
If Crawford continues to play like he is now, he will be to the Hawks what Cutler is to the Bears...a player who has a huge stupid contract & will cost the team other players do to the cap hit.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

Again, Crawford has mostly sucked in his last few games, which came after a three-week injury absence - THAT'S what happened. Before that, he was near-tops in the league.

My take is that he is probably still reeling a bit from the bitchslap he got from the front office + still recovering from the injury. He will be fine.

Sure, it sucks that the team may have to cut a couple of players loose in order to balance the cap, but it happens with elite teams - the Hawks are not the only pro franchise that has had to deal with it - and the reason they'll have to do that this coming offseason is because it's Saad's turn.

Once again, find me a better goaltender for the long haul who is proven, yet making less money. You want Rinne or Lunqvist? Provided you can get them, be ready to cough up an extra $1M - 2M a year and add two years of age. Want Quick? He's two years younger at a cost of $5.8M through 2022, and was fortunate that in last season's playoff the Kings were an offensive juggernaut, because his stats were WORSE than Crawford's.

You want to bitch about Bickell's contract? That's a different story.

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Not a mult.

I'm a Bickell apologist. He provides a commodity valuable in the playoffs. Getting a 2nd tier PF is always expensive. You're always looking for them to become Landeskog or Benn. Look at Milan Lucic, Chris Stewart, Nathan Horton, and Malone/Penner a few years ago. They drive you crazy.

Well, if Cro is so thin skinned that he is in fact still reeling from the front office bitchslap, I don't like his reaction to adversity. Kane was bitchslaped & his game improved. We don't know that Cro will be fine. I hope that he will be, but if this continues much longer, don't be surprised if Q sits Cro for either Ranta or Darling. The Hawks did in fact play their best Hockey when Cro was out injured & Ranta & Darling played well.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

Corey Crawford is fine. He's won a Cup. Ene of that part of the discussion. I'll bet SH's favorite goalie of all time is Belfour.

I'd be willing to hear more about Rinne's great history of playoff success though.
(I'm a big Rinne guy, just thought that was an interesting 1st name thrown out when talking about playoffs).

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Up until last years flameout, I'm sure Ryan Miller would have been the go to "better than Crawford " guy. Fuck Rinne too. When he wins something, let me know. Another of the" easy to look good when theres no expectations" guys. We'll see how he holds up this year now that Nashville may actually be favored to do something.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Laviolette might run Rinne into the ground. Perds have played 38 games. Rinne has started 33. He's second in minutes behind Schneider, whom DeBoer just ran into the ground at the expense of his job.

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I love Rinne, but I think it's fair to say that a lot of goalies would look better playing in Nashville prior to this year.

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Again, we are talking about the current version of Corey Crawford, not what he did in the past. He has been awful and I am concerned about it and so are the Hawks.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

He's been awful for like two weeks out of the year. Let's just let him heal fully from whatever he did, because he's obviously still not right.

In happier news, Q said TVR is recovering from his broken knee ahead of schedule. Let's hear it for HGH, everyone!

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That was my original point. It is the contract that I don't like about Crawford. Who would you rather have Crawford or Hossa/Sharp? That is a choice they may have to make if they want you keep Saad past this year.

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"YOU GOTTA BE BLEEPING ME"

Hossa isn't going anywhere. The risk of a recapture penalty would greatly increase if he was flipped.

Luckily Saad is RFA. GMs have this odd gentlemanly agreement to not offer sheet players. Sure, there's the offer here and there for Radar, Kessel, Weber or Hammer but it's definitely underutilized. Stan can offer a bridge contract that will be slightly cheaper than open market and can serve as a holding place. In the meantime he could on flipping Bickell or Crawford or maybe even the CI's wet dream in Seabrook (would be a dumb move).

Yes to CH and yes to Spaulding.

Crawford started the season on fire. He stood out and covered for many defensive lapses. He does not look good over the last few weeks and there's no reason to keep out there if he needs to heal.

He's not elite (too inconsistent) but we can win with him. I love Rinne and even a diminished Quick is more consistent than Crawford.

I'm more concerned with the fact that despite if he's on fire or not, the defense leaves him hanging out to dry.

We need to stop getting behind teams as has been the case over the last few weeks.

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