Former Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Antti Raanta revealed today that he will be retiring form the National Hockey League in attempts to continue his playing days overseas.
The 35-year-old indicated that he did have some interest from NHL teams in free agency, including Toronto, and Vancouver with a PTO as they look for veteran insurance with the uncertainty surrounding Thatcher Demko’s situation. However, Raanta indicated that those teams were viewing him more as an insurance option and that there was a possibility that he would have had to start in the AHL.
“One of the remaining veteran free agent goaltenders is Antti Raanta but don’t expect his name to be added to the list of players accepting PTOs. The veteran told Ilta-Sanomat’s Sami Hoffren that he has decided that his playing days in North America have come to an end.”
Last season, Raanta was back with Carolina after a strong 2022-23 showing that saw him post a 2.23 GAA and a .910 SV% in 27 games. Unfortunately for him and the Hurricanes, he struggled mightily last year, putting up a 2.99 GAA with a save percentage of just .872 and eventually, Carolina had to run him through waivers multiple times, sending him down to AHL Chicago after he cleared.
Raanta’s NHL playing days end with 277 career appearances at the top level with four different organizations. He posted a 139-80-29 record while putting up a 2.48 GAA, a .915 SV%, and 20 shutouts. Overall, it was a solid career for someone who went undrafted and didn’t make his NHL debut until his age-24 campaign.
But while it’s the end of the road for Raanta in North America, it’s not necessarily the end of his hockey career. Raanta indicated to Hoffren that he’s looking to land a spot in Switzerland, Czechia, or Germany.
While he had offers from there in the spring, he turned them down at the time, hoping for an NHL offer to his liking to come around. At this point, with international leagues either underway already or about to start, Raanta will be biding his time for the time being with the hopes of getting a call in the near future.
With that being said we like to wish Raanta a happy retirement for the National hockey league.
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