Carolina locked up one of its own from the open market, securing veteran goaltender Antti Raanta on a one-year deal worth $1.5 million.
The 34-year-old spent the past two seasons with the Hurricanes in primarily a backup role behind Frederik Andersen, with good success. Raanta went 19-3-3 last season with a .910 save percentage and 2.23 goals-against average.
Both Raanta and Andersen became free agents Saturday, leaving the Hurricanes goaltending depth notably thin (only rookie Pyotr Kochetkov was waiting in the wings). But Carolina GM Don Waddell confirmed earlier in the week during the NHL draft in Nashville that the Hurricanes were interested in retaining both Raanta and Andersen.
Now that Raanta's contract is done, Carolina can zero in on Andersen's next deal.
Sharing the net with two other goaltenders, Raanta authored an impressive season in limited duty with the Panthers. In helping his club to a No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, he racked up stat totals that traditionally result in decent-sized deals in free agency.
But at 34, and with Carolina fizzling out of the postseason via four-game sweep at the hands of the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference finals, Raanta wasn't expected to attract an overwhelmingly lucrative deal. He played the past two seasons with an average annual value of $2 million in Carolina, after earning $4.3 million the season before from the Arizona Coyotes.
