It's official

Corey Crawford has been sent down to Rockford. Antti Niemi will open the North American portion of the season as the Blackhawks' backup goalie, behind Cristobel Huet.

Niemi looked good in Helsinki. I'm not impressed with Crawford. And since goal figures to be the one position at which the Hawks are vulnerable, it's especially important that Cristobal Huet some pretty stout help-especially given his record of inconsistency over the years.