Antti Raanta

Antti Raanta (born May 12, 1989) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was signed by the Chicago Blackhawks as an undrafted free agent in 2013.

Playing career

Professional

In 2013, Raanta won the Finnish championship with Ässät and was awarded both the Lasse Oksanen Trophy for the SM-liiga's best player of regular season, as well as the Jari Kurri Trophy for the best player of the playoffs, posting a .955 save percentage.

On June 3, 2013, Raanta signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. He was recalled by the Blackhawks from the American Hockey League (AHL)'s Rockford IceHogs on November 17, 2013, after Chicago's backup goaltender, Nikolai Khabibulin, suffered an injury in a loss against the Nashville Predators the previous night, November 16. Raanta made his NHL debut against the Colorado Avalanche on November 19, 2013, stopping 14 of 16 shots in relief of starter Corey Crawford. On December 30, 2013, Raanta earned his first career shutout, beating the Los Angeles Kings at home at the United Center. He stopped all 26 shots he faced, and improved to 10–1–3 on the season. Raanta was named Rookie of the Month (an honour shared with Los Angeles' goaltender Martin Jones) for December 2013, going 8–1–3 with one shutout. On January 12, 2014, Raanta helped end his team's losing; the Blackhawks had previously lost three-straight games, with Crawford in goal for all three losses. Raanta played against the Edmonton Oilers as Chicago prevailed 5–3.