General manager Stan Bowman made it clear immediately after his team's season concluded at the hands of the rival Canucks in the playoffs: His No. 1 job in rebuilding the 2010 Stanley Cup champions was re-signing goalie Corey Crawford and then he'd go from there.

Bowman didn't waste any time checking Crawford off his to-do list.

Crawford and the Hawks agreed on a three-year, $8 million deal that carries an annual $2.67 million cap hit. The 26-year-old went 33-18-6 with a 2.30 goals-against average in his first full NHL season for the Hawks.

"He earned the right to be our No. 1 goalie," Bowman said after the team announced the signing.

"It's great to get it done early," Crawford said. "We're very happy with three years. I don't know how much talk there was to have more than that. I think, for now, that's more than fine. I'm so excited to get back there and start next season."

Crawford took over after some shaky performances by veteran goalie Marty Turco and became a stabilizing force for the team throughout its up-and-down title defense.

By signing Crawford, the Hawks also avoided a situation similar to the one that spelled the end of Cup-winning goalie Antti Niemi's time in Chicago -- they avoided arbitration. Last summer, Niemi was awarded $2.75 million in arbitration, forcing the salary cap-stricken Hawks to let him go and sign Turco.

Crawford spent five years in the American Hockey League, developing and biding his time as Nikolai Khabibulin, Cristobal Huet, Niemi and Turco were brought in. Now, he wants to prove he's worth his new deal.

"It's a different mental approach going into (summer training), but, still, I have to prove to them I'm the guy," Crawford said.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT
Rallying from a 3-0 series hole against the rival Canucks to force a Game 7 in the first round stands as the Hawks' top highlight of a wild, unpredictable season, where inconsistency ruled. Rookie LW Ben Smith's overtime game-winner in Game 6 made the Canucks worry and sparked memories of the last two postseasons, in which the Hawks eliminated them both times.

TURNING POINT
Led by an MVP-like surge from C Jonathan Toews, the Hawks went on an eight-game winning streak that started in late February and ended in early March. Without it, the Hawks wouldn't have had a chance to make the playoffs. Their up-and-down ways, which embodied the season, returned after that.

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