Although he wouldn’t discuss the current status of negotiations, Kevin Epp, the agent for Coyotes goaltender Antti Raanta, confirmed to Arizona Sports’ Craig Morgan that there is mutual interest in getting a contract extension done.
Raanta was part of the big trade with the Rangers that also saw Arizona pick up center Derek Stepan while New York added the seventh overall pick (center Lias Andersson) and blueliner Tony DeAngelo. When healthy, he has made a big impact and has posted a .935 save percentage since the beginning of January which is well above-average. However, he has only been able to play in 39 games this season and is currently out with a lower-body injury.
The 28-year-old is receiving just $1MM in salary this season and will be poised to make considerably more for 2018-19 as he is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July. The contract Carolina handed Scott Darling after acquiring his negotiation rights last season (four years, $16.6MM) will likely be a close comparable if they can get a deal done.
While he still has another year remaining on his contract, Morgan reports that the Coyotes also have interest in signing defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson to an extension as well. They will be able to do so as of July 1st and Epp happens to be the agent for the defender (as well as fellow Arizona rearguard Oliver Ekman-Larsson).
As has been the case with Raanta this year, Hjalmarsson has had trouble staying healthy as he missed 26 games due to multiple upper-body injuries. When he has been in the lineup, the 30-year-old has been a stabilizing presence on their back end, logging just shy of 21 minutes per night. GM John Chayka acknowledged to Morgan that the veteran was drawing trade interest prior to last week’s trade deadline but that they weren’t looking to move him.
Hjalmarsson carries a $4.1MM cap hit (with a $4MM salary) through next season. As the league shifts away from stay-at-home players in favor of more mobile puck-movers, it will be interesting to see how much of a raise he will be trying to command to put pen to paper on a deal that would see him forego unrestricted free agency.