Does Chicago Have a New Plan for Goaltending?
By now, pretty much the whole world knows that Chicago is in need of goaltending assistance. If that wasn't made clear when they brought in Vezina/Jennings winner, future Hall of Famer, Marc-André Fleury, it certainly became apparent when he left.
What's interesting is that the Blackhawks organization actually has a pretty long line of goalies just waiting to be brought up. Behind Lankinine and Delia, there are still 4 more to choose from.
Kevin Lankinen is not a bad goalie. He's made a lot of very timely saves for this team. Most recently, and notably, during the shoot out at Pat Foley's last game. But he needs someone to push him, to challenge him, to make him want to be better. Is it possible for any of the younger guys to do that? I think so. But will the Blackhawks also be possibly keeping an eye out for certain rival UFAs? Probably.
Until then, let's take a look at who they have coming up. So far, Davidson seems pleased with the prospects of Söderblom, Stauber, and Commesso, but is not fully confident that Söderblom is «NHL ready». And I agree. The new GM has made it clear that he's not about forcing players into the NHL before their time (see Lukas Reichel) and that goes for goalies, too.
ARVID SÖDERBLOM
In his 38 games with the Rockford IceHogs (who are now in the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs), the 22 year old from Sweden posted a record of 21-15-2 with a SV% of .919. He came out of his 3 NHL games with 0-2-0, .863. Personally, I feel like he would greatly benefit from the same treatment Lukas Reichel got. Bring him in for a few games, send him back down. Just enough to get him used to the pace of the NHL, and the ability to recognize how he needs to play differently, depending on where he is.
JAXSON STAUBER
Jaxson Stauber is a 22 year old out of Providence College, whose father Robb was also a goalie (Kings and Sabres) and coach (U.S. Women's National Team - gold medal 2018 Winter Olympics). He comes with a record of 21-14-2, four shutouts, a .921 save percentage, and 2.10 GAA in 37 games with the Providence Friars. He was also a semifinalist for the 2022 Mike Richter Award, as well as one of 9 finalists, last season. Drew Commesso was up for the same award this season, as well.
Originally from Minnesota, Stauber played one game for Minnesota state, posting a 1.00 GAA and .933 save percentage, before rejoining the Sioux Falls Stampede. He'd spent two prior seasons there, and paced the USHL goaltenders with a .918 SV% in the 2019-20 season.
Jaxson has signed on for a two-year entry-level contract that runs through the 2023-24 season, and has full support of new GM, Kyle Davidson, «Jaxson is a great step in making sure there is no drop-off in our goaltender development.» He went on to say that «His skill and competitiveness will add to the already strong crop of goalies we have in the system.»
DREW COMMESSO
Drafted in the 2nd Round by the Blackhawks in 2020, the American from Norwell, MA has been noted to play a more aggressive game, which is something Chicago could definitely use. And even though the United States got knocked out of the Olympics, Commesso still came away with a record of 2-0-0 and a SV% of .964. In his 28 games at Boston for the 21-21 season, he posted 13-11-3 and .914SV%.
Drew will definitely be a major part of the Blackhawks' rebuild, but it's not going to happen next season.
Hear Drew talk about his inspirations and his future with Chicago:
CALE MORRIS
Having signed a one-year ELC on 12/31/21, Cale Morris was a big part of the taxi squad early in 2022. He never officially played in a NHL game, but was a back-up a few times, and called up again in April as a back-up for Lankinen, when Collin Delia had a family emergency.
With the IceHogs for 7 games this season, Morris went 2-4-0 with a .905 SV%, and 9-7-2 with a .896 SV% in 19 games for the Indy Fuel. As with most of the others, the former Hobey Baker finalist will most likely benefit from more time in the AHL.
If Chicago can get someone who's already NHL experienced, I think they should, and I think they should keep Lankinen as their Number 2, or depending on who they get, and depending on the chemistry, it could turn into a rotating tandem. Although, if Fleury couldn't do it, I'm not sure who else could. But I do think there is an excellent pool of talent, just waiting to grow. So I think above all, especially for the fans, the patience will be the hardest part.
| POLL | ||
MAI 5 | 220 ANSWERS Does Chicago Have a New Plan for Goaltending? What would be your move in the goalie department? | ||
| Trade Lankinen | 47 | 21.4 % |
| Bring in an NHLer | 74 | 33.6 % |
| Bring up an AHLer | 36 | 16.4 % |
| Other/All of the above | 63 | 28.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
