Scott Darling overcame alcohol addiction that nearly derailed his career in college at Maine. He worked his way up through multiple teams in the East Coast Hockey League and the AHL to become the backup goaltender for the Blackhawks, his hometown team.
Now, Darling will get the opportunity of which every goaltender dreams _ the chance to be No. 1 in net.
It just won't happen with the Hawks.
The Blackhawks settled any speculation over who their goaltender of the future would be on Friday in trading Darling to the Hurricanes in exchange for a third-round pick in this year's entry draft.
Darling is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and it speaks to how highly the Hurricanes think of Darling that they were willing to deal for him just for the chance to negotiate with him before he hits the market.
Meanwhile, the Hawks recoup a third-round pick in this year's draft after trading theirs to the Red Wings in February for winger Tomas Jurco. Darling's trade is a statement from Bowman that Corey Crawford will be their goaltender as Bowman sets out trying to reshape the roster after this season's first-round exit at the hands of the Predators, a loss Bowman and President John McDonough both said was "unacceptable."
"We could count on Scott in any situation as he was always reliable," general manager Stan Bowman said in a statement. "We appreciate his contributions to the Blackhawks organization _ including a Cup Championship team _ and we wish him well as he continues his career in Carolina."
Darling, who signed with the Hawks in July 2014, earned the chance to become a team's top goaltender thanks to his performance as Crawford's backup the last three seasons. Over 75 career games, including 64 starts, Darling has a save percentage of .923 and a 2.37 goals-against average, numbers worthy of a starter in the NHL. Darling was 18-5-5 this season for the Hawks and filled in capably in December when Crawford missed nine consecutive games after undergoing an appendectomy. His .924 save percentage this season was fifth among all goaltenders who started at least 30 games this season. His 2.38 GAA was 10th.
Darling said last week he was excited to see how his free agency would play out and that he felt he had earned the chance to start for a team.
"I feel like I've paid my dues as a backup and when I've had a chance to play consecutive games I feel like I've shown that I can do it," Darling said.
Darling's biggest moment for the Hawks came in the 2015 playoffs when he took the net over for a struggling Crawford and tallied three victories in a first-round playoff series against the Predators. The Hawks won the series in six games and went on to win the Stanley Cup.
There was some thought that to save cap space, the Hawks might have attempted to trade Crawford, who carries a $6 million cap hit but has a no-movement clause in his contract, and sign Darling at a lower cap hit. One source said Darling could command between $3 million and $4 million per season. That will be quite the raise over Darling's $1.175 million he made the last two seasons combined.
But Darling will be making that money with another team as the Hawks made clear Crawford is still their starter now and in the future.
