According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7, the Coyotes have extended a contract offer to goaltender Antti Raanta. The deal could be up to four years with a cap hit between $4-4.5MM, which would be a huge raise over the $1MM deal Raanta is currently on. While the Coyotes have been open with the fact that they want to re-sign Raanta, he potentially could enter the market as the top goaltending option this summer and have his pick from several opportunities.
After struggling through injury for part of the season, Raanta has really found his groove and now carries a .929 save percentage on the year. That puts him second among goaltenders who have started at least 30 games, only trailing Marc-Andre Fleury’s .931 mark. Raanta’s exquisite play and relative youth—he won’t turn 29 until May—could land him a long-term deal from any number of teams in the offseason. If he’s going to stay in the desert, it may take even more money.
- Mathew Barzal will suit up for Team Canada at the World Championships according to Andrew Gross of Newsday. The outstanding rookie has 79 points on the season and has quickly turned into a household name around the NHL. Citing excitement to play with Connor McDavid, Barzal will join a pretty impressive group already signed up for the tournament. With the Olympics not taking NHL players this year, perhaps even more are willing to pull on their country’s sweater and play in an international event.
- Rasmus Dahlin on the other hand won’t be appearing in any more games for Sweden this season. After his club team’s season ended recently, Dahlin will shut it down and prepare for what will be a whirlwind offseason where he is expected to go first overall in the NHL draft. Uffe Bodin of Elite Prospects reports on the situation, noting that without Dahlin at the upcoming U18 tournament, all eyes will shift to Adam Boqvist, another top defensive prospect in the upcoming draft.