Antti Raanta gives nod to Coyotes’ past with new Kachina goalie pads

 

Arizona Coyotes goaltender Antti Raanta has already honored the team’s classic Kachina throwback style, but he’s now doing it while reviving a look previously worn by a Coyotes netminder.

Every Saturday home game during the season, the Coyotes have Kachina Saturdays, during which the team wears its throwback color scheme and Kachina logo on its uniforms. Raanta had a special set of goaltending equipment for these occasions in the past, deviating from his standard red and white pad set, but this year will be a little bit different.

Raanta’s Kachina pads will be a more accurate depiction of the Kachina pads worn by former Coyotes goaltender Sean Burke. Burke, pictured wearing almost identical pads in the gallery above, played for the Coyotes from 1999 to 2004, appearing in 211 games for them in that span and registering a .919 save percentage.

Burke’s save percentage for the then-Phoenix Coyotes is the third-highest in team history among goalies who played at least 50 games for the franchise. He’s behind, fittingly, active Coyotes goalies Raanta and Darcy Kuemper.

Raanta’s new pads were seen in an Instagram post from Brian’s Custom Sports, a company that makes goaltending equipment for many in the NHL.

“For retro nights, Antti wanted to bring back Sean Burke’s old style from the actual Kachina days,” the post’s caption said.

The first Coyotes Saturday home game this year is their home opener, which is against the Boston Bruins on Oct. 5.