Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford plans to play, didn’t consider retirement

Corey Crawford expects to be back in the lineup soon. | Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford left no ambiguity: He plans to play again as soon as possible.

He addressed his concussion today for the first time after going through a full practice with the Hawks and said he felt “back to normal.” He has been out nearly two months since a collision at the net sidelined him, but has been training with the staff and has no restrictions on practicing.

Crawford said he wasn’t scared about playing after suffering concussions in two straight seasons and did not consider retirement when he went down in December.

“Not at all,” he said. “I was gonna come back as soon as I felt 100 percent. I’m not worried about that. It is what it is. Some guys have to deal with other injuries. It’s just what I had to deal with. But I feel good, I feel ready and we’re just gonna work our way back to getting in the lineup.”

Neither Crawford nor Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton have mentioned a timeline for his return. He is not traveling with the team today for Tuesday’s game at the Bruins.

Other thoughts from Crawford:

— He believes he’s close to game shape because of the work he’s done while on Injured Reserve.

“I’ve been working out pretty hard the last week or so, so I think I’m in good shape right now,” he said. “This was the first full practice, but I felt better today, seeing pucks… It’s just keep going and hopefully nothing trickles back and I can feel good from here on.”

— There were similar symptoms to the concussion he suffered last season, but this one wasn’t as bad or prolonged.

— As far as when he expects to play again, Crawford pointed out that the Hawks aren’t exactly hurting in net with the way Cam Ward and Collin Delia have done lately.

“It’s pretty tough to jump in right now,” Crawford said. “Deals and Wardo have been playing so well, we’re on a pretty good streak right now.

”Obviously I would jump in the net right away, but honestly we haven’t really discussed that at this point. We’re just trying to figure out days when I could practice with the team and kind of get timing back. That’ll come hopefully sooner than later. Right now it’s just practicing.”