Chicago's Goaltending: Is there a plan for Marty Turco and Corey Crawford?

There has been a lot of finger-pointing with regard to the Blackhawks' slow start this season. Some want to believe that it is due to the long season leading up to the Cup win. Others believe that that defense, and at times the offense, need to show up consistently for a game. Others still want to blame Marty Turco and Corey Crawford.

While all of these points are valid ones, the question that came to mind while reading some Chicago columnists earlier today was this; What truly is the plan for Turco and Crawford? While the contract and arbitration issues with Antti Niemi were heating up, the Hawks were watching Marty Turco out of the corner of their eye.

With a one year contract, my questions are these: Why is he here? What's his purpose? What is the plan? It is relatively clear that he isn't here to battle No. 2 goaltender Corey Crawford for the No. 1 spot. Is he here to play Osgood to Howard, a la the Detroit Red Wings? Was Turco brought in for the year to be a mentor to Crawford? Was he brought in as a stop-gap because we simply needed a goaltender?

If that is the case, it would make sense to gradually see the playing time for the two to gradually equal out and eventually see Crawford move into the No. 1 spot by the end of the season. Yet, I am not getting the warm fuzzies over this scenario. How often do we hear Turco talk about mentoring Crawford?

Another interesting aspect of Turco's arrival is that he has moved his entire family here with him from Dallas, the only home the kids have ever known. If there is only a one year contract, six-to-eight months in a calendar year, it seems odd that Turco would uproot his family, the kids in particular. Is it possible that Bowman has left the door open for more than what the press and public have been told?

Bowman and the Blackhawks front office have worked hard selling Turco to the fans. Starting with a large press conference in late August and lots of public events, including helping paint the Blackhawk logo on the United Center Ice. The need to "sell" Turco to the fan base was certainly a smart move considering how much fans fell in love with former goaltender Antti Niemi during the Cup run last year.

Yet here we are, 25 games into the season and the stats on these two goaltenders are interesting:

(Source: Official Blackhawks website)

	Games	GAA	Min.	SV%
Turco	18	2.90	1056	.904
Crawford	7	2.39	401	.916

This is going to be a rebuilding year, that is pretty clear. Defending the Cup just doesn't seem realistic. So, why not use it to give Crawford some consistent time in net to gain the experience that he will certainly need next year? Turco, while a great guy and great leader in the locker room, certainly isn't living up to Bowman's billing of him when he arrived. If there was some plan for Turco and Crawford, it may certainly need to be taken back to the drawing board.

Is it time for Coach Q to start giving Crawford more time in net?