New Jersey Devils goaltender Corey Crawford is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team due to personal reasons, the team announced Friday.
Crawford has not practiced since training camp opened for the team last week. His absences were first described as “maintenance days” by coach Lindy Ruff before the team said he was taking personal days on Wednesday and Thursday.
“We need to give him his space,” Devils veteran forward Travis Zajac told reporters 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.”
Crawford, 36, signed a two-year deal with the Devils this past offseason with an average annual value of $3.9 million. He had been the Chicago Blackhawks‘ starting goaltender since 2010-11 — and helped them to two Stanley Cup championships — but the team decided not to re-sign him this offseason.
The Devils had a need for a veteran goaltender after buying out Cory Schneider, and Crawford was due to share the net with 24-year-old Mackenzie Blackwood, who was re-signed to a three-year, $8.4 million contract before training camp began.
New Jersey has three other goalies on its camp roster: Scott Wedgewood (24 games of NHL experience), Gilles Senn (two games of NHL experience) and Evan Cormier (0 games of NHL experience).
Crawford ended his Blackhawks career ranked third in franchise history with 260 career wins, trailing only Tony Esposito and Glen Hall. Crawford is the Blackhawks’ franchise leader in postseason wins (52) and is the only goaltender in team history with multiple Stanley Cups.