The Corey Crawford saga took another step in the X-Files direction last night, when Sun-Times Blackhawks beat writer Mark Lazerus reported that he had heard from three sources that Crawford was experiencing “vertigo-like” symptoms and could miss the remainder of the season. All this after he had previously stated on his new podcast with poor Tracey Myers that “I have been getting shut down left and right trying to figure what is going on around here.”
It certainly came as a surprise to everyone when the Blackhawks cryptically announced that Corey Crawford was placed back on injured reserve on December 27th with little-to-no explanation and described the situation as an “upper body injury.” This nondescript description told the public nothing about the nature of the “injury“, and the team laid out absolutely no time table for his return.
Shortly thereafter, Stan Bowman was asked about Crawford’s status, and he said “There’s not much to say until he’s back on the ice. It’s sort of status quo right now.” We were left to sit and wait for more news, and Corey Crawford disappeared into the ether.
So, we waited…
and waited…
and waited…
For almost four full weeks.
Then, previous to the puck drop of Sunday’s Blackhawks game, John Wiedeman and Troy Murray innocuously mentioned that Corey Crawford could return as soon as two games before All-Star break. Being employed spokespeople of the team, I would assume the organization had fed them this information. This directly conflicts with Mr. Lazarus’ sources, just two days prior.
Mind you, I am not saying Lazerus’ report is false. He is reporting what he has been told, which is his job. My distrust lies in just what he was told.
Following that last Blackhawks game, Jonathan Toews was asked about Corey Crawford by John Dietz from the Daily Herald and had a very interesting reply:
Toews on his reaction when finding out about Crawford injury: “We’re always concerned about our teammates first and then our team second. … He’ll do what he can to get himself better, so he can get back to playing and get back and help our team when he knows how to.”
— John Dietz (@johndietzdh) January 14, 2018
Toews’ choice of words struck a nerve, particularly, “He’ll do what he can to get himself better, so he can get back to playing.” This tells me that Crawford has some level of control in his recovery. Many people focused in on this comment, which will happen when the Blackhawks organization are acting like this subject somehow holds the secret to immortality. I also know that I don’t need to remind you of how the Blackhawks have grossly mishandled public relations nightmares in the past.
Following the Toews quote, some whispers and rumors started to resurface regarding Corey Crawford’s whereabouts and the nature of his “injury“, because of comments by Joel Quenneville stating he had not talked to Crawford and “It’s been quiet right now” do seem cryptic and unusual.
Now, I cannot speak on the rumors themselves or their validity, just that they were getting more common and were all very similar in nature.
Yesterday, one of the NHL’s most trusted and highly regarded sources, Elliotte Friedman, stated the following in his weekly “31 Thoughts” Sportsnet piece:
“Chicago coach Joel Quenneville reiterated to local reporters this week that Corey Crawford will be back this season. That’s good news for the Blackhawks because last week there was some real worry about whether or not Crawford would be able to return.”
Again, this is directly conflicts with the information fed by the three “smoking man” sources that spoke to Lazerus. These sources back-pedaled, stating that there is legitimate fear that Crawford will be out for the rest of the season, and that he was experiencing “vertigo-like symptoms.” These are symptoms that cannot be quantified nor can they be definitively refuted. Convenient, to say the least, and hardly something that Crawford could “do what he can to get himself better.”
One would think that if Crawford had these “vertigo-like symptoms” following his last game on December 23rd, that team would be more open to releasing this information, after the Bryan Bickell incident. Fans are clearly sympathetic to the situation. The Blackhawks did no such thing, however. In fact, when Bickell was diagnosed with his “vertigo-like symptoms“, he was around team doctors and Quenneville often. Quenneville openly stated that he has not talked to Crawford.
Why would this be any different?
Is Corey Crawford in some sort of top secret Area 51 type medical facility that doesn’t allow for phone calls, texts, or visitors?
This certainly smells funny. You would think that the head coach of an NHL team would demand regular updates on, possibly, his most important player in the heated race just to make the playoffs.
Don’t you think?
When your job may be on the line?
In the day and age where every bit of media minutia is questioned by the public as fake or planted, we are all just going to take this situation and accept it without question? Because the NHL and it’s teams have always been so forthcoming and honest?
Is it a stretch to think the organization has heard the rumors, and sent the sources out to spin this situation in another direction by feeding one of their only remaining beat writers a big fat exclusive? This has been going on for nearly a month and, suddenly, less than 48 hours after rumors start getting hotter sources start popping out of the woodwork?
If it looks like excrement and smells like excrement, it might just very well be excrement.
