The Chicago Blackhawks have landed a coveted NCAA free agent. Providence College’s Jaxson Stauber, an undrafted goaltender, has signed with the team, inking a two-year entry-level contract carrying an $883K cap hit. The signing comes off the heels of the team’s trade of starting goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to the Minnesota Wild. While it is unlikely that the trade of Fleury had any direct impact on this signing, in a statement Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson emphasized the importance of “making sure there is no drop-off in our goaltender development” for his rebuilding club. As it stands the Blackhawks’ two goalies on their NHL roster combine for under 100 games of NHL experience, so Davidson’s statement indicates that repairing the team’s organizational situation between the pipes will be a priority.
While Stauber was passed over in every NHL draft he was eligible for, that hasn’t stopped him from developing into a viable goaltending prospect in his own right. Stauber is a Hobey Baker nominee this season and his play through two seasons at Providence College has been stellar. In 37 games this season Stauber registered a .921 save percentage, and in 2020-2021 he posted a .916 in 23 games. Stauber also stands six-foot-three, meaning he isn’t tagged with the “undersized” label that has plagued many goaltending prospects across hockey. Should he be able to continue the success he found at Providence College with the Blackhawks organization, it would greatly help a club with far more questions than answers regarding its goaltending situation.
For the Blackhawks, signing Stauber helps add talent to a team in need of some goaltending reinforcements. As previously mentioned, after the trade of Fleury the crease in Chicago is relatively wide open. The current tandem of Delia and Lankinen is unproven and without much recent success. Delia has a .750 save percentage in his 28 minutes of action at the NHL level this season, and Lankinen has a .889 mark through 17 games so far in this campaign. Arvid Soderblom, with a .920 save percentage this season in 23 games for the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs has promise, but otherwise, this is potentially one of the best opportunities for quick advancement should Stauber want to reach the NHL as fast as possible. Should he exceed expectations, he could find himself quickly rising through the organizational ranks in net. He could get the chance sooner rather than later, too, as Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago reports that although Stauber’s contract “kicks in next season,” if he chooses to start in Rockford he could be able to under an amateur tryout agreement.
Once a proud organization, now has become shambles and will be bottom feeders.
Price of winning Cups in the cap era. You don’t get good draft picks, and those players want to get paid: the Hawks have been letting talented players walk or giving them away for over a decade now because they couldn’t afford to keep them in the fold. What does recent Hawks history look like if they hadn’t had to dump the likes of Byfuglien, Panarin, Niemi, Campbell, Saad, Teravainen and Ladd to save bucks?
Bowman should have started the rebuild several years ago, though there is some indication that McDonough was standing in the way of that.
Huh. I expect this is Robb Stauber’s son? Timing is right for when Robb was coaching at Minnesota.