The Chicago Blackhawks are doing the best they can to return to relevance. As we know, they’ve been in rebuilding mode for quite a few seasons now. General manager Kyle Davidson wants to build a contending team mostly from within, through draft picks and development of young players. It’s a tall task, and a bit unorthodox. But the rising salary cap makes it even more necessary to take this route. Top free agents and big splash additions just aren’t as numerous or pausible as they used to be. Essentially, Davidson and the Blackhawks are on the frontier of the new ways of working for the league.
Related – 3 Blackhawks Who Will Benefit From the Olympic Break the Most
Tucked into this new frontier are a couple of young defensemen trying to find their way in the NHL; Alex Vlasic and Louis Crevier. These two blueliners are currently serving as the Blackhawks’ top shutdown defensive pairing. They don’t exactly come from the highest pedigree. Vlasic was chosen by the Blackhawks in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft. Crevier was eligible in 2019, but wasn’t selected. Instead, he was picked in the seventh round (188th overall) of the 2020 Draft. Let’s face it; a lot of seventh round picks never even make it to the NHL. Yet here we are.
Just how did these two 24-year-old’s get to this point, and where can they go from here?
Vlasic & Crevier With Solid Starts in the AHL
It’s important to note both Vlasic and Crevier spent plenty of time with the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. Vlasic was with the IceHogs the majority of the 2022-23 season, suiting up for 56 regular season games and five playoff games. Crevier played in 62 regular season games and two postseason games that same season. Their days playing together go back to this season, as they were often-times on the same defensive pairing.
Blackhawks’ head coach Jeff Blashill recently talked about the benefit of the AHL for young players, especially defensemen who take longer to develop. “The AHL is a great learning league, and it’s hard to kind of learn on the fly in the NHL … certainly it just allows you to kind of be in a league where you’re not just surviving. And I think that’s the biggest thing, is trying to learn in those opportunities that thrive.”
Vlasic had a little bit shorter trajectory into the NHL. He became an everyday player with the Blackhawks in the 2023-24 season and is now nearing the end of his third full NHL campaign. Crevier, on the other hand, went back and forth between Rockford and Chicago in both the 2023-24 and the 2024-25 season. He found his footing in the NHL playing 32 games with the Blackhawks in 2024-25, mostly due to injuries of other defensemen.
While Vlasic proved his worth and signed a lucrative six-year, $4.6 million annual contract extension in the 2024 offseason, Crevier was a restricted free agent and somewhat on the bubble in the 2025 offseason. But the Blackhawks did see potential in Crevier. They gave him a qualifying offer and later signed him to a two-year, $900,000 million annual contract. But headed into the 2025-26 season, Crevier was expected to be more of a seventh defenseman; an insurance guy on the roster. After all, much more highly touted prospects seemed primed to join the NHL ranks, namely Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel and Wyatt Kaiser.
Blashill Brings Out the Best in Crevier
Enter a new head coach in Blashill, which basically gave everyone on the team a chance to prove themselves anew. Crevier did just that. While he didn’t have the pedigree of other right-handed shots Levshunov and Rinzel, he had more NHL experience. This worked to his advantage. Blashill wanted to shelter his two freshest D-men, so he decided to go with a rather unconventional lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Related – Analyzing the Blackhawks’ Decision to Dress 11 Forwards & 7 Defensemen
This benefitted Crevier in that he was a part of the lineup, instead of the seventh defenseman as a healthy scratch. Here’s more from Blashill on this thought process.
The reason for it is we have a lot of really, really young D(efensemen). And I’ll give you kind of two things. One is, when you have really, really young D, you don’t really know what you’re going to get every night (chuckles). So when there’s seven there, it kind of increases the odds that certain guys are on if certain guys are off.
Probably more specifically, it allows us to even the minutes out. I think Louis Crevier is an excellent penalty kill guy. So you have Murph (Connor Murphy) and Crevs who can start those kills. If one of them is not in the box. Rins (Sam Rinzel) and (Artyom) Levshunov have got the power play minutes. So on that right side, it really evens those minutes out, which I think is a positive thing.
Crevier was basically the seventh defenseman to start the season, playing the least minutes. But he impressed on the penalty kill and helped even out the minutes during five-on-five play. He also earned the trust of his coach, and his confidence grew. Said Blashill of Crevier in early December,
Going to the year, I didn’t know what to expect. To be honest with you. I sat on the other bench last year and was like, wow was that guy big! But I didn’t know him other than that, as a player. And I think Louis’s confidence is really growing. When his confidence grows, he’s just becoming a better and better player. He’s a six foot whatever, eight or seven (Crevier is 6-foot-8). He skates well, he’s got good hands, he can shoot a puck. Those are all attributes that lead to a pretty good player, and I think he’s developing into a good piece for us in front of our eyes.
By mid-November, Rinzel and Levshunov were taking turns as that “seventh defenseman”. In early December, Rinzel was sent down to the IceHogs for further seasoning. Meanwhile, Crevier was suddenly being deployed on the top defensive pairing alongside Vlasic, going way back to their Rockford days. They’ve essentially been together ever since.
What Makes Vlasic & Crevier Work?
Let’s start with the obvious. Vlasic is 6-foot-6 and Vlasic is 6-foot-8. That’s a couple of big bodies right there! But bigger players aren’t always the best or fastest skaters, and being the top shutdown pairing means you often play against the other team’s top lines. But Blashill feels they’re up to the task.
You certainly hope that as the year progressed from training camp on, it looked like both guys could be guys that you could use as a shutdown pair. So that was our hope. They’re both super long. They both have the ability to be really good defenders, but both can move a puck good enough. So sometimes when you’re out there against the other team’s best, you might be playing with one of our best lines too. So you got to be able to move the puck good enough. And I think they both are showing continued improvement in those areas of having poise and making the right plays. So this is certainly what we had hoped. Listen, they’re still in a learning process, and don’t have a crazy amount of games under their belt. There’s still been up and down to their games, but I think they’re headed in the right direction, and can be a big factor for us. Not only now, but into the future.
That’s pretty high praise from Blashill. And the fact that he added “into the future” is certainly telling. Vlasic is already considered a cornerstone piece on the back end, and Crevier has one more year on his contract after this season. Can he cement a role for himself moving forward, despite A LOT of talent to compete with?
I spoke with Crevier after practice on Feb. 17 about playing with Vlasic. He’s a very even-keep and humble young man, so it’s no surprise he deferred a lot to his partner.
I think Vlas is a guy that’s super easy to work with. We both play a simple game, and when you’re starting to play more and more with someone you kind of know his habits and how he likes to do things. So I think we’ve done a pretty good job. Especially playing against some good lines and having more of a defensive role is good. And we take pride in doing that role.
Vlasic certainly agreed that their familiarity with each other is an asset. He brought up simple play and size as well.
We’ve known each other for a long time. We’ve played together for a long time. I think we have similar mindsets when it comes to the game. I think we we’re both kind of defense-first oriented players. Which makes it easy because neither of us are taking unnecessary risks that much. I guess sometimes I’ll do some stupid stuff out there (laughs). But, yeah, I think obviously our size as well is something that is really helpful for us. We cover a lot of ground, and we both have really long reaches. So it’s been fun, and I’m excited to keep it going.
Related – Blackhawks Embrace Fresh Start as Practices Resume
The defensive pairings as a whole seem to be in a state of flux right now. Rinzel and Kevin Korchinski were both recalled on Feb. 18 and could be part of the future plans. I’m sure the coaching staff will also want to re-integrate Levshunov after he was scratched for three games before the break. Kaiser is currently on injured reserve. And veterans Connor Murphy and Matt Grzelcyk are both trade targets for the upcoming trade deadline on Mar. 6. The Vlasic/Crevier pairing appears to be the only constant right now.
How Vlasic & Crevier Can Improve
What’s exciting is Vlasic and Crevier are both still young with lots of room for growth and improvement. Earlier in the season, Blashill was asked about having patience with big, tall defensemen such as his top shutdown pairing. In this case, it applied to Crevier, but it easily applies to Vlasic as well.
…with big players a lot of times the fluidity in which they move gets better as they get a little bit older. And I think that’s certainly been the case with him (Crevier). And so he’s 6-foot-eight. His feet are really good for that size. He’s smart defensively, and I think what he’s done is he’s gained poise with the puck. I think he’s realized that he has an extra split second because of the size of his body, to make sure that he makes the right play with the puck as much as possible. And that right play might still be a hard play, but it’s allowed him that extra split second to go tape-to-tape, and now you become a really, I think important player.
I asked both Crevier and Vlasic about using their bigger body to their advantage, to have more time to make a play. Said Crevier,
Yeah, I do think so. I think I can still do a better job to do it more often. Especially like the last couple of games, maybe I got away a little bit from it. But it’s something I thought I was doing well. And when you play against more skilled players, sometimes they’re not as physical. So you can wait one more second and something might open up, or you might just turn around. So maybe a little bit more poise in my game is something that could be helpful, and it has been helpful as well. I’m trying to do it more and more. So it’s still an adaptation.
Vlasic agreed that he’s still learning how to use his bigger body to his advantage.
I feel like it has its pros and cons. Like you said, one of them is definitely you do have a long reach. You’re able to kind of hold it away from players longer than somebody who’s 5-foot-10 necessarily would. So you do have a little bit more time. I think you cover more ground when you have the puck. So you’re able to kind of pass it around guys, or maybe, like, pull and pass through. So it’s tough learning those types of skills. Obviously, you see the really good players do it, being able to pass through sticks and stuff like that. But it’s definitely something that we’re both working on and can help us down the road.
When recently asked what he wants from his top defensive pairing, Blashill stressed that consistency is key. He mentioned breaking out the puck so they don’t have to defend as much. He also emphasized what he preaches to all his players, that if they don’t have their A-game they need to learn to find their B-game to help contribute to the team’s success.
An Engagement, Plus Cats in Common
The Olympic break was a time to rest and reset for all the players, but it held special meaning for Vlasic. He proposed to his girlfriend, Payton (she said yes!). The couple has been together for eight years; they were high school sweethearts. Vlasic said he wanted to surprise her. “She thought it was coming after the season, like in the summer, so I just wanted to make sure I surprised her. And I did, so I’m happy.” Congrats to Alex and Payton!
sounds like the fellas were enjoying the break ❄️☀️❤️ pic.twitter.com/XsyJvO9IVI
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) February 17, 2026
Finally, it turns out that Vlasic and Crevier have something else in common besides being long-time defensive partners. They both have an affinity towards cats. Vlasic has a family cat named Leo (“similar to Louis!” he said while pointing to Crevier a few stalls down). He says he prefers dogs, but a good cat is pretty hard to resist.
A good cat is very, very cute. Like, cats are hit or miss. 50% of the time you get a cat that’s like, mean. I don’t want one of those; obviously nobody does. But when you get a cat that’s nice. It’s like, the cutest thing when they’re like cuddling on you.
Crevier seems to have a dilemma on his hands when it comes to his cat. They’re considering fostering him out.
Because we have a small apartment (he and his girlfriend). And I feel like he doesn’t, he’s still a kitten. He’s not one (years old) yet. They have the big house he just prefers way more the big house, bigger space and all that stuff. So my girlfriend’s cousin, he wants a cat, so he might take him.
We wanted to keep him, but I think we’re maybe not ready for a cat. I know he’s a baby, and it’s been harder than I thought. The plan was to keep him. I just feel like he could be happier in a bigger place, and for us too, because it’s so small and you get when you have the litter box. Sometimes it’s like, I think it weighs a little bit right now, so I think he’s gonna be happier somewhere else.
Well. We’ll have to check in later in the season to see what happened with Crevier’s kitten. They don’t have a name for him yet, in the interest of not getting too attached. But those little balls of fur tend to grow on you…
Related – Blackhawks News & Rumors: Kaiser, Korchinski, Rinzel, Bedard, More
Vlasic and Crevier are both only 24 years old, but they already seem to have a good head start on being the top shutdown defensive pairing for the Blackhawks. They both are learning to use their big bodies to their advantage and to hone their craft. Both individually and together, they’re doing their best to be a part of the Blackhawk’s returning to relevance again.
