The Carolina Hurricanes have signed goaltender Antti Raanta to a one-year deal worth $1.5 million. Locking up arguably their best goaltender from last season at such a low price is a huge success for the team. After carrying a 19-3-3 record in the 2022-23 season, Raanta will be splitting the net with Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov again next year.
Not only did Raanta have a phenomenal regular-season record, but he had a respectable .910 save percentage and four shutouts. He has dealt with some injuries, so expecting him to play the majority might be out of the question, but at this price, if the Hurricanes need to add another goaltender they can.
Raanta wasn’t stealing a lot of games for the Hurricanes, but he was exactly what they needed him to be. They play a very strong defensive game and make a lot of goaltenders look good, but he was also giving them every save he needed to. Getting a starting goaltender coming off of a season with that record at $1.5 million is a steal for the Hurricanes.
Related: THW’s Free Agency Tracker
Raanta is coming off of a two-year deal with the Hurricanes, where he was making $2 million per season. Getting a discount after a stellar season like the one he had is impressive work from general manager Don Waddell.
Health is a Key Factor for Raanta
Raanta has dealt with a lot of lower-body injuries over the years, and while he has had two great seasons in Carolina already, including winning the William M. Jennings Award in 2021-22, he has only played 55 games for the club over that span. Raanta has only played over 30 games in a season twice, so the Hurricanes are clearly keeping this in mind by giving out a short-term deal and re-signing Andersen, while still having Kochetkov in the mix.
That being said, even in small sample sizes, Raanta has always had very good numbers, including four seasons with a save percentage of .920 or higher. The Hurricanes keeping the trio together makes a lot of sense as together they had a fantastic season last year and with the rest of the team staying relatively alike to this point, they have given the organization confidence in running it back next year.
It will be interesting to see how the Hurricanes break down the workload between the trio of goaltenders, but Kochetkov is waiver-eligible and can be sent to the minors for this year, but after this season when Raanta’s contract is up, Kochetkov will be full-time in the NHL.
