![\"Petr](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/feea8ea\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/4277x2851+0+0\/resize\/840x560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F65%2F84%2Fcf9b4436477ea6f9f2a21eb69003%2Fmrazek.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Less than halfway through the two-year extension he signed last winter, veteran goalie Petr Mrazek has been thoroughly written out of the Blackhawks\u2019 plans.<\/p>\n
The Hawks will roll with a two-goalie rotation of Spencer Knight and Arvid Soderblom for the rest of the season, interim coach Arvid Soderblom said Wednesday. Knight is scheduled to start Friday against Utah, and Soderblom will presumably start Saturday at the Predators.<\/p>\n
Goalie coach Jimmy Waite added Thursday he expects the remaining games to be divided roughly 50\/50 between Knight and Soderblom, as long as they both play well.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the right decision from a long-term perspective. Knight, 23, and Soderblom, 25, are important building blocks for the organization moving forward. Mrazek, 33, is not.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also a smart decision based on each goalie\u2019s performance this season. Knight\u2019s save percentage is .912 \u2014 and he stopped 41 of 42 shots in his sparkling Hawks debut Monday \u2014 while Soderblom\u2019s is .904 and Mrazek\u2019s is .890. Knight\u2019s plus-6.5 GSAA ranks 15th out of 64 goalies league-wide, Soderblom\u2019s plus-3.0 GSAA ranks 25th and Mrazek\u2019s minus-10.8 GSAA ranks 61st.<\/p>\n
However, this creates an unfortunate and unpleasant situation for Mrazek, who has battled gamely through two and a half years of constant losing in Chicago to get to this point.<\/p>\n
Mrazek has been a source of joy and levity throughout his tenure, and for long stretches, he has also provided solid goaltending. Last season, he posted a .907 save percentage and plus-6.7 GSAA in a career-high 56 games played.<\/p>\n
He addressed the situation after practice Thursday with his usual levity and maturity.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Sodie\u2019 and Spencer are young guys, and they have their whole careers in front of them,\u201d Mrazek said. \u201cI\u2019m going to be here to support them. I\u2019m going to be happy around them [to] make sure they feel comfortable.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been in way worse situations in my career. I\u2019m a positive person. It\u2019s still a great [place] to be around. The job we have, we have to enjoy it. And I believe when people are positive, good things will happen. [I\u2019m] definitely not in a bad mood or anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mrazek talked to general manager Kyle Davidson earlier this week. Both parties are hoping they can figure out a trade before the deadline Friday afternoon, although Mrazek\u2019s $4.25 million salary-cap hit and the Hawks\u2019 lack of available retention slots will make that difficult and therefore unlikely.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s such a good pro,\u201d Waite said. \u201cHe never [complains] about anything. … If anybody would take that [news] the right way, that\u2019s him. Hopefully we can find him a good home so he can go play somewhere. That would be great for him. He deserves it. Don\u2019t forget he was our best player last year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Panthers briefly needed a new backup goalie after trading Knight to the Hawks, but they filled that hole by acquiring Vitek Vanecek from the Sharks on Wednesday. The Kings are another team that might add goalie depth due to backup David Rittich\u2019s struggles.<\/p>\n
Other conceivable landing spots for Mrazek include the Canucks (if injury-prone Thatcher Demko isn\u2019t trending toward returning soon) or the Flames (if they trade current backup Dan Vladar).<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s more likely than not Mrazek remains stuck on the Hawks for the final six weeks of the season, sitting around while awaiting a summer trade or buyout. He admitted Thursday he is \u201cmentally tired.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a business,\u201d Mrazek added. \u201cThis is what it is \u2014 that\u2019s what happens in hockey. I\u2019m still going to be here, coming in with a great attitude. What happens in the summer…or in the next two days, we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mrazek was his usual positive self Thursday, even though he sees the writing on the wall for his Hawks tenure with the goaltending rotation turned over to Spencer Knight and Arvid Soderblom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16552,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chicago-blackhawks"],"yoast_head":"\n