Chicago Blackhawks 2025-26 Player Grades: Louis Crevier

The Chicago Blackhawks finished their 2025-26 campaign 31st in the league, with a record of 29-39-14 and 72 points. It was an improvement from last season’s totals of 25-46-11 (61 points), but the organization had more progress in mind when they embarked on this campaign. The good news is the Blackhawks finished with more wins and more points than the previous season. They also feel they’ve taken positive strides in the growth and development of a plethora of young players, who could be a big part of a more successful future.

In this summer series, we’ll hand out individual grades to every player on the team. Today we highlight defenseman Louis Crevier.

Crevier’s Season Stats

7 goals, 18 assists, 25 points, minus–2 in 78 games played. Average time on ice (ATOI) of 17:08 minutes, shoots right

46. Corsi For Percentage (at Even Strength) (CF%), 95 blocked shots, 124 hits, 15 takeaways, 64 giveaways, 63 penalty minutes

Contract Status: Contract runs through the 2026-27 season, $900,000 cap hit

Season Overview

Everybody thought Crevier was going to be the seventh defenseman this past season; basically the odd man out. He wasn’t waivers exempt anymore, so the Blackhawks were going to keep him on as a fill-in. After all, on the right side they had Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel, and stalwart veteran Connor Murphy all ahead of Crevier on the depth chart.

But Levshunov and Rinzel were both very green, and head coach Jeff Blashill wanted to shelter them. So he went with a very unconventional seven-defensemen lineup at the beginning of the season. Crevier was the seventh defenseman, but he was playing instead of sitting. He also had more experience (56 games from two previous seasons) than the other two, and could therefore be trusted to fill some extra minutes five-on-five, as well as on the penalty kill.

As the season wore on, Crevier’s confidence grew and his play therefore improved. He ended up being deployed mostly on the top defensive pairing alongside Alex Vlasic. Who would’ve ever thought a former seventh-round pick would be playing on the top pairing?! But it was reality, and Crevier made the most of his opportunity. On Jan. 17 ahead of a game versus the Boston Bruins, Blashill credited the blueliner for his contributions.

Louis is logging big minutes. I think Louis’s really come a long way. He’s growing in his confidence. I think he’s learned about that real belief in himself, how much he belongs here, how much he can be a good player in this league, the skill set that he has that can be successful. You’ve seen him be better and better with the puck, understanding that because he’s so big and strong (6-foot-8, 228 pounds) and can skate, he can hold people off and take that extra second to make tape-to-tape passes and not panic with it.

At season’s end, Crevier’s 124 hits was second only to departed heavy-hitting forward Colton Dach (traded at the trade deadline to the Edmonton Oilers). His 95 blocked shots were second to Vlasic, and his 149:31 minutes on the penalty kill ranked fifth on the team. The Quebec native also managed a minus-2 plus/minus rating, despite going up against the other team’s best lines most of the time.

But that’s only part of the story. Now let’s discuss Crevier’s offensive contributions. He led all defensemen with seven goals and 25 points, and his 18 assists were third among defensemen. The 25-year-old’s 114 shots on goal also led all D-men, and ranked sixth on the entire team.

As a matter of fact, his heavy shot from the point has become something of legend. According to NHL Edge Crevier has one of the hardest shots in the league, and he’s not afraid to use it. “Louis’s shot is the best weapon of the group back there, said Blashill on Jan. 7. “Because it’s so heavy and so hard, it finds its way through. And I think the more his reputation is, it’ll find its way through more and more. I wouldn’t want to block it!”

CREV WITH 2 GOALS IN THE THIRD🫡 pic.twitter.com/UidlwYvLY4

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) April 16, 2026

Crevier obviously isn’t perfect, especially with this being just his third season in the NHL. On the defensive end, he has to work on doing the right thing and making the right plays more consistently. But he acknowledged at the team’s exit interviews that he feels more comfortable and free out on the ice than in the past. He’s not as scared of making mistakes. That’s certainly a giant step (pun intended) in the right direction for the big defenseman.

Quotable Quotes

Blashill on Crevier’s impact on the team now, and in the future:

He’s got really good feet, he’s really long, good defender. So he’s been a real important piece of our team this year. But I also think he’s a real important piece moving forward.

Vlasic at exit interviews, on his defensive partner’s success:

He’s such a good player when he’s playing with confidence, when he’s playing with some swagger. He’s such a big guy out there, great skater, and he brings so much to our team when he’s playing at his best. So I was really happy for him this year, and he made it easy for me to play alongside him.

Crevier Final Grade: A-

For a guy that was considered unlikely to make it to the NHL level, Crevier has obviously exceeded expectations. This was a breakout campaign for him, where everything seemed to fall into place. His hard work to get to this point has paid off, and the towering defenseman has established himself as an impact player for the Blackhawks. Roles might change a bit next season on the blue line, and it will be interesting to see where Crevier fits in. But it’s safe to say he’s on the right trajectory, and he will continue to prove his worth.