Antti Raanta ends NHL career after 11 seasons with Hurricanes, Coyotes, Rangers, Blackhawks
After 11 NHL seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes, Arizona Coyotes, New York Rangers, and Chicago Blackhawks, Antti Raanta is heading home.
The 35-year-old goaltender, who won the Stanley Cup in 2015 as a backup goaltender with the Blackhawks, announced in an interview with a Finnish outlet on Saturday that his NHL career is over and he intends to continue playing in Europe.
In 24 games with the Hurricanes during the 2023-24 regular season, Raanta posted a 12-7-2 record, one shutout, and an .872 save percentage. He finished the year with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, appearing in eight games and winning two.
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— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) September 15, 2024An undrafted player, Raanta joined the Blackhawks in 2013 after wrapping up a stellar tenure with Ässät in the Finnish Liiga. He posted strong numbers over his two seasons in Chicago but wound up as the club’s third-string goaltender behind Corey Crawford and Scott Darling during their Stanley Cup run in 2015.
With three quality goaltenders and only two spots for them, the Blackhawks opted to trade Raanta to the Rangers prior to the 2015-16 season. Raanta excelled in his two seasons as Henrik Lundqvist’s tandem partner, posting a 27-14-4 record and five shutouts in 55 games.
In 2017, the Coyotes acquired Raanta and Derek Stepan from the retooling Rangers in exchange for Tony DeAngelo and the No. 7 pick in that year’s draft (Lias Andersson). Raanta struggled to remain healthy during his tenure in the desert but remained one of the league’s stronger goaltenders, managing a career-best .930 save percentage in the 2017-18 season.
Finally, Raanta concluded his NHL career with three seasons as a tandem goaltender with the Hurricanes, managing respectable numbers in his first two years with the club before dropping off last season. In 277 career NHL games over parts of 11 seasons with four teams, Raanta went 139-80-29 with 20 shutouts and a .915 save percentage; he also posted a 9-9 record with a .911 save percentage in 24 playoff games.