Dec 17, 3:23 p.m.: The Hurricanes reached an agreement with their former AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, to find Raanta a home in the minors, per a team release. Raanta joins another NHL veteran, Keith Kinkaid, in the struggling Wolves’ crease. Chicago’s decision to go independent has quickly backfired, and they sit near the bottom of the league with a 6-13-3 record. If Raanta suits up, it will be his first AHL appearance since suiting up with AHL Tucson in 2019-20 while on a conditioning stint.
Dec. 17, 1:03 p.m.: Raanta has cleared waivers and can now be assigned to a minor-league team, according to Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic. Without a dedicated AHL affiliate, it’s unclear where the team will assign Raanta. It’s unlikely he would accept an assignment to ECHL Norfolk.
Dec. 16: The Hurricanes have had a tough time between the pipes lately and a shakeup could be on the way as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that goaltender Antti Raanta has been placed on waivers.
The 34-year-old inked a one-year, $1.5MM contract on the opening day of free agency to stay with Carolina, taking a $500K pay cut in the process. Raanta opted to do so despite coming off of a pretty strong showing, one that saw him post a 2.23 GAA and a .910 SV% in 27 games last season, numbers that were better than league average. Clearly, he was comfortable with the Hurricanes and vice versa so him sticking around certainly made plenty of sense on the surface.
Unfortunately for both sides, things have not gone well at all. Raanta has struggled mightily this season, putting up a 3.61 GAA along with a .854 SV% in 14 games. Friday’s game against Nashville was one to forget as he allowed six goals on 30 shots in an overtime loss which appears to be the last straw.
That said, it’s not as if Carolina’s other two netminders have been demonstrably better either. Prior to being sidelined with blood clots, Frederik Andersen had a career-low .894 SV% in his six appearances while Pyotr Kochetkov has been hit or miss in his 14 games, checking in with a .890 SV%. Those numbers are below the NHL average this season as well.
With Andersen still out indefinitely, the timing of this move is particularly noteworthy. The only other goalie that Carolina has on an NHL contract is prospect Yaniv Perets who is playing with ECHL Norfolk with the Hurricanes not having their own AHL affiliate this year. Are they really comfortable running with him as the backup to Kochetkov?
Accordingly, it’s possible that Raanta’s waiving is the precursor to a trade. Speculatively, the other team might not want to take Raanta’s contract on, or, conversely, want to make sure he’d be available to be recalled from the minors if they were to move a netminder. Montreal, Columbus, Buffalo, and Detroit are currently carrying three goalies on their active roster at the moment with those teams having varying degrees of interest in dropping to two. Meanwhile, there may be other teams that are willing to move one of their two current goaltenders as well.
Of course, it’s also worth noting that Raanta doesn’t have to be sent down if he clears waivers on Sunday at 1 PM CT. This could just be a move to give them a bit of extra flexibility when it comes to day-to-day cap management or to try to send Raanta a message to help try to get him back on track. With the roster freeze now just a week away, it shouldn’t be long before we find out what route Carolina intends to take with the veteran. If he does clear and is sent down, Carolina will be able to clear a prorated $1.15MM off their salary cap.
Ken Holland, get on it…
After that dismal performance last night, this isn’t suprising. To put it nicely, he sucked.
Friday’s game? Against Tampa, he made 6 saves on 14 shots. He played the entire game. I don’t know if that’s happened recently, never mind ever, in any pro hockey league.
Last night must have been the final straw. Any AHL goalie could do better than Raanta at this point.
Did you watch the game? Only 1, maybe 2 of those were really his fault. The team sucked that night.
One or two loses many hockey games. Making hard saves is why you’re paid the big bucks.
Did you watch the game, yes or no?
stat lines tell the score, not the story
The team waived him despite their lack of goaltending depth. Is that not conclusive enough for you?
And yes, I was following the game.
James Reimer… welcome to your new home
Jaroslav Halak?
what happened to his PTO?
He was released from the PTO not too long after signing.
That’s probably a no. They released him from his PTO a few weeks ago – after they knew about Andersen’s blood clots. The Canes were already thin on goaltending, so I’m guessing Halak isn’t an option.
Halak initiated the release. He missed his family, and the PTO was due to expire.
Interesting. Certainly Raanta’s at least as good a bet as some of the other goalies bruited about in trade rumors to netminder-light teams.
One would think so… and yet, he seems to be completely shot. Its bizarre.
Pens will trade you Jarry
Jarry isn’t their problem
I believe Don is calling Boston , anyone of the 2 goalies for a prospect and next year first tound choice sounds fair .
That won’t happen. But I wish it could work out that nicely.
For the reigning Vezina winner? My ask would be a good bit more than a prospect and a first rounder.
Goalies don’t usually fetch much even if they are great. A first rounder plus should be enough, but I don’t think it happens.
Fall guy for team problems. Bring back D’Angelo things fall apart. LOL Surprised he did not punch Raanta . Forgot he never plays.