New York Rangers News: Rangers Acquire Antti Raanta From Chicago
The New York Rangers have acquired Antti Raanta from the Chicago Blackhawks, who will be Henrik Lundqvist's new backup.
Several hours after the New York Rangers traded away Cam Talbot for draft picks, Glen Sather quickly located Henrik Lundqvist's new backup goaltender. According to an official team release, the New York Rangers have acquired Antti Raanta in a straight up exchange for forward prospect Ryan Haggerty. While Haggerty certainly had his bright spots during last year's training camp, a bumpy road in Hartford pushed him even further down the depth chart.
As for Raanta, the Rangers are getting an extremely affordable backup goaltender who has one-year left on his deal, which will pay him $750,000. That is more or less half of what Talbot was going to make this upcoming season, so the Rangers will have an extra $700,000 or so tucked away in their back pocket.
Not to discredit Talbot by any means, but you could also say there isn't much drop-off when comparing Talbot to Raanta, which is extremely good news for the Rangers. During last season in a limited role with the Hawks, Raanta posted a 7-4-1 record, while also producing a 2.18 GAA, and a .918 SV%.
