Former Rangers Goalie Antti Raanta Ends NHL Career and heads back to Europe

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Joshua Deeds
September 15, 2024 (6:07 PM)

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The 35-year-old Antti Raanta appears to have made a decision in regard to his hockey career. The former Rangers goalie was recently interviewed in Finland and was asked about his plans for his professional career, while he may not play in the NHL this season.

Raanta expanded upon his thinking, that he won't be retiring anytime soon and won't come back to play in North America either.

«I played 11 years in the NHL. Now is a good time to return to Europe with my family,» Raanta told Ilta-Sanomat. «Every other day, the wife sees on Instagram, when the wife of someone playing in Switzerland has updated pictures from there, and how great it looks there.»

While he did mention Switzerland as a place to play in 2024-2025 he was unsure of his native Finland, due to the tax structure.

«At the end of the season and in the summer, I thought about all sorts of things, but as the summer progressed and my body felt good, Europe started to attract me more,» Raanta said.

Raanta played two seasons as backup to Henrik Lundqvist in 2015-2017 and 2016-2017, He had a solid record of 27-14-4 in 55 games with the Rangers, starting 44 of those. With a 2.25 GAA, a .921 save percentage, and five shutouts. Four of those came in 26 starts, in the 2016-2017 season.

Raanta was popular here, and on his debut on October 19, 2015, he posted a 22-save shutout, securing a 4-0 shutout against the San Jose Sharks. He won his first four games with the Rangers and was 7-2-0 in his final nine games in 2015-2016.

In 2016-2017 he'd win his first five games on Broadway and would win the next 8 of 9 games. He would only allow 3 goals in just three games in a total of 30 games played that season.

He would follow up a successful run in New York, signing a deal with the Arizona Coyotes and signed a three-year $12.75 Million dollar deal, and would spend four years there before moving on to the Carolina Hurricanes and in 2021-2022 would win the William Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals against in the NHL.

Raanta was plagued by injuries during his stay in Carolina. He'd struggle with a 2.99 GAA, and a .872 save percentage in 24 games, starting 20 of those.

He would be passed by Pyotr Kochtekov on the Canes depth chart and ended up in the AHL. He would draw interest from several NHL teams who wanted to bring him back on a PTO, but he wasn't interested. One of them was the Vancouver Canucks.

«I turned it down right away and announced that I've kind of made up my mind that I won't be going there anymore,» Raanta explained.

Raanta's career stats are 2.48 GAA, and a .915 save percentage, in 277 NHL games(251 of those started) with 20 SOs split between the Chicago Blackhawks, Arizona Coyotes, Carolina Hurricanes, and New York Rangers.

Source: Forever Blueshirts
Former Rangers goalie Antti Raanta leaving NHL, not retiring