New Jersey Devils: Corey Crawford taking indefinite leave of absence

New Jersey Devils goaltender Corey Crawford is taking an indefinite leave of absence.

We’re just a week away from the start of the 2021 NHL season, but the New Jersey Devils will now be forced to scurry around to find a goaltender to pair with Mackenzie Blackwood after veteran netminder Corey Crawford‘s decision to leave the team.

The 36-year-old Crawford signed a two-year deal worth $7.8 million this past offseason, leaving Chicago after 13 seasons to join the rebuilding Devils.

Devils head coach Lindy Ruff didn’t elaborate on the news, only saying the team needs to give Crawford his space. Crawford had missed a few of the team’s practices this past week, and when asked about his absence, Ruff called them “personal days.”

It is nothing out of the ordinary to see a veteran player absent from practice, although it’s typically a skater taking a day off; not very often do you see a netminder miss practice unless he’s nursing a physical ailment.

In an article published by the Toronto Sun, Devils forward Travis Zajac chimed in on Crawford’s leave:

"“We need to give him his space,” Devils forward Travis Zajac said Thursday. “Obviously, no one knows himself better than he does, so obviously we want him to be part of this team, but I think going forward, he’s got to make that decision. I think he can take all the time he needs. We want him here.”"

First and foremost, I hope Crawford is okay. He has a history of concussions after missing a whopping 47 games back in 2017-18, along with the first couple of weeks of the following season with lasting effects of a concussion.

After returning to the ice in 2018, Crawford sustained yet another concussion after striking his head off the goal-post, sidelining the veteran netminder for another two months with post-concussion symptoms.

Crawford posted a record of 16-20-3 last season with the Blackhawks but excelled in round one of the playoffs, upsetting the Edmonton Oilers in the preliminary round of the extended playoffs. Crawford has a 260-162-53 mark with 26 shutouts, a 2.45 GAA and a 91.8 save percentage in 488 career games over 13 seasons in Chicago.

It’s noteworthy to mention Crawford and his wife have two young children at home, and before returning to the NHL bubble to take part in the 2020 playoffs, he did test positive for COVID-19. Perhaps with the coronavirus continuing to rage around the World, Crawford is taking some time to decide whether he’d like to play in 2021 or take the season off.