Coyotes have offered Antti Raanta multiyear contract extension
Apr 2, 2018, 2:29 PM | Updated: 4:24 pm
Arizona Coyotes goalie Antti Raanta makes a save during the third period of the team's NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday, March 21, 2018, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
(AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
The Arizona Coyotes have offered Antti Raanta a multiyear contract extension with the hope they can avoid the starting goalie reaching free agency this offseason, reports 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro.
The deal could be for up to four years and would be between $4 to $4.5 million in average annual value, Gambadoro reports.
Raanta has gone 20-16-6 this season with a 2.27 goals against average and a .929 save percentage, both of which are tied for third-best in the NHL.
Despite minor injuries at the beginning of the season and a setback due to a car accident, the 28-year-old has appeared in a career-high 45 games this season. In two years with the Chicago Blackhawks (2013-15) and two years with the New York Rangers (2015-17) prior to landing with the Coyotes, Raanta had never played in more than 30 games.
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Since the beginning of the calendar year, he has the best save percentage (.938) and best goals against average (1.94) among goalies who have played at least 20 games.
Arizona acquired Raanta and center Derek Stepan in a draft-day trade that shipped defenseman Anthony DeAngelo and the seventh overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft to the New York Rangers.
After dealing with a turnstyle at the backup goalie position when Raanta was sidelined or resting this year, the Coyotes in February traded Tobias Rieder and goalie Scott Wedgewood to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for goalie Darcy Kuemper, who has started nine games as Arizona’s backup netminder.
