On the morning of August 19th, the Kansas City Mavericks announced the re-signing of defensemen Marcus Crawford for the upcoming campaign. Agreeing to a standard player agreement, Crawford had an impressive season, amassing 42 points on 12 goals and 30 assists.
Come October, it’ll be his third year with the Mavericks, and his second full season in Kansas City. Crawford brings a stellar arsenal to the hockey club’s blue line, while also adding to that a strong skating ability.
He was a bright spot on what was otherwise a lacklustre blue line this past season. A native of Ajax, Ontario, he bursted onto the scene amid a career offensive year. Prior to 2020-21, the 24-year-old’s highest scoring season was 2018-19 with the Toledo Walleye. It was there he amassed 26 points, scoring only three goals, while adding 23 assists.
The Mavericks acquired Crawford the following season in a trade that sent winger Tad Kozun to the Orlando Solar Bears. That season was a poor one for Kansas City, and the whole team was tormented by uninspired play. Affected by these hardships, Crawford skated in only 17 games, where he amassed six points on three goals and three assists. He didn’t appear as anything special, which made his performance last year all the more surprising.
“Marcus had a career high season last season,” said Tad O’Had, Head Coach of the Mavericks. “He is an integral part of our team’s success and the power play. We believe Marcus will continue to build on last year’s success. His ability to defend, generate offense and move pucks with pace are just a few things that make him such an impactful player for the Mavericks. We believe he is a top talent in the league and he showed it last season.”
Having a puck moving defenseman like Crawford quarterbacking the team’s power play will do wonders for Kansas City. The Mavericks had the league’s fourth best power play last season, and retaining Crawford will be essential to repeating similar successes.
So far, no new defensemen have been announced by the franchise, and given how the defence performed last season, that could be an area of concern to address. However, Crawford is an important signing and one that’s exciting thanks to his offensive upside. It’s always important to have a few solid offensive defensemen. But you can’t make your entire defensive Corps offensively minded. The Mavericks now need to pivot their attention in an effort to acquire a pair of shutdown defensemen. They need big, durable bodies that will make the opponent pay for every inch of ice.