The Rangers have been busy during Day 2 of the 2015 Entry Draft as they parted ways with Carl Hagelin and backup goalie Cam Talbot in exchange for draft picks and Emerson Etem. Lo and behold, Rangers management wasn’t quite done, as they needed to fill the newly vacant backup goaltender spot. That is exactly what they did in trading away prospect Ryan Haggerty for Antti Raanta of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Antti Raanta
With the Blackhawks, Raanta had a 20-8-5 record and started in 29 games. He had a 1.89 goals against average and a 7-4-1 record in 14 games during the 2014-15 season.
Raanta also notched an 8-1-1 record, including two shutouts, a .918 save percentage and 2.39 goals-against average in 11 games with the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL last season.
Raanta will fill the role of Talbot, who was stellar during the absence of Henrik Lundqvist. Talbot went 21-9-4 with .926 save percentage, 2.21 goals-against average and five shutouts in 36 appearances.
The Rangers are getting an extremely affordable backup goaltender who has one year left on his deal, which will pay him $750,000.
The trade helps Chicago start the movement of players which will help keep them under the NHL’s $71.4 million cap limit and guarantee the goaltending duos of Crawford and Darling in Chicago and Lundqvist and Raanta in New York.
Ryan Haggerty
Haggerty has yet to make his NHL début. He had 15 goals and 18 assists with the Hartford Wolf Pack in the American Hockey League last season. His seven power-play goals were third most on the team.
He played previously for RPI in NCAA hockey action, picking up 47 goals and 37 assists in three seasons with the team.
The trade is a good move for the Blackhawks. They will soon be in need of added depth at forward, as they are likely to lose Patrick Sharp, among others, due to the salary cap.
