Carolina Hurricanes Have Had Enough, Place Goalie On Waivers

Hours after a brutal performance, surrendering six goals, the Carolina Hurricanes have finally pulled the chute on goaltender Antti Raanta, placing him on waivers.

The #Canes have placed goaltender Antti Raanta on waivers.

In 14 games this season he has produced a record of 6-5-1 with a 3.61 goals against average (GAA) and an .854 save percentage (SV%). pic.twitter.com/dXA8w1hH5O

— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) December 16, 2023

Raanta stopped only 24 of 30 shots in a 6-5 overtime loss Friday night to the Nashville Predators, looking clearly uncomfortable in net all night. 

The beleaguered netminder, in fact, has gone 0-3-1 in his last five games with a 4.75 goals against and a laughable .805 save percentage. Overall on the season, he's  6-5-1 with unacceptable 3.61 GAA and .854 Sv% marks. Pyotr Kochetkov has taken over as the No. 1 goalie in Carolina. With a 2.77 GAA and an .890 Sv%, he's been somewhat better between the pipes. 

But the fact remains that the Canes had been rumored to be in the trade market for a goalie earlier in the season, and that will obviously continue going forward. Are they ready to bring in another backstop in short order? There seem to be conflicting reports:

Hurricanes re-signed Raanta to a one-year, $1.5 million contract on July 1.

Placing him on waivers seems like they're preparing to bring in another goalie.

— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) December 16, 2023

Hurricanes will likely be in the trade market for a goalie eventually but nothing appears imminent at the moment. https://t.co/JQpEMdFziK

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) December 16, 2023

Carolina re-signed Raanta to a one-year, $1.5M deal this past summer. 

They're now currently at 16-12-2, in 4th place in the Metropolitan Division.  

Photo: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports