Petr Mrazek was great for the Chicago Blackhawks last season as he was finally healthy and back to peak form. Unfortunately, the team around him wasn’t at his level and the Blackhawks finished 31st in the league.
That is supposedly going to change with all of the new and exciting additions to the team. While Mrazek was able to finish last season with a .907 SV% in 56 games, he is in line to perform even better with a more experienced, healthy, and better team in front of him.
The Blackhawks signed Mrazek to a two-year deal in January of 2024, months before the season ended and he was set to become a free agent. This set the stage for what the Blackhawks were going to do in free agency in net by acquiring Laurent Brossoit. So goaltending shouldn’t be the problem or the reason Chicago isn’t competitive this season.
Mrazek’s reasons for staying in Chicago included two main points, “They gave me the chance to get back on track (from) my injuries, get healthy,” he said. “I want to be a part of the rebuild, hopefully part of something special.”
The second reason was the Blackhawks’ goaltending coach, Jimmy Waite, who Mrazek said was a “Great goalie coach. Best I’ve had in the NHL.” That is some high praise since Mrazek has played for five different NHL teams over a 12-year span.
Mrazek faced over 30 shots per game last season, and despite recording a 3.05 GAA, there was a reason why he tied his career average of .907 SV%.
To Mrazek’s point, the Blackhawks might be on the tail end of their rebuild, so he should be able to experience the team coming out of it and be a part of something special. The Blackhawks have a lot of talent on their team currently, young and older, as well as a great system.
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Chicago’s team SV% was just .892 and there was only one shutout recorded on the season, by Mrazek. Given he had a .907 SV% and played in 68% of the games, with much better help that he and the Blackhawks are going to receive this season, there could be something special cooked up sooner rather than later.
