[Signing] Blackhawks sign G Antti Raanta

[Ashasx]

Elliotte Friedman ‏@FriedgeHNIC
Finnish reporter @jhiitela says Blackhawks have signed UFA goalie Antti Raanta. He was MVP in league playoffs...

Elliotte Friedman ‏@FriedgeHNIC
Believe this was done a couple of days ago, but CHI did not want to announce on the day of a Western Conference Final game.


Sucks for the Oilers.

[AC]

On the off chance he works out in the NHL... Haha, take that Oilers.

[Cheerio]

Willing to bet he backs up Crawford next year and Emery moves on.

[devo22]

good signing, he'll be an NHL calibre goaltender very soon.

[nickerjones]

Best Goalie Outside the NHL ... not signed by the Flames..... amirite?

[FlamesAddiction]

The Hawks scouts did OK when they found and signed Antti Niemi as an older unsigned goalie prospect from Finland, so maybe they'll strike gold again.

[PlayfulGenius]

I'm surprised they wouldn't bring back Emery as the duo seemed to do well for them this year...perhaps Emery is looking for a starting gig and didn't want to re-sign.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by PlayfulGenius

I'm surprised they wouldn't bring back Emery as the duo seemed to do well for them this year...perhaps Emery is looking for a starting gig and didn't want to re-sign.

Cap crunch. they're in a heap of trouble.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

In the Back Burner, Henry Fool seemed very high on him. Good signing by the Hawks.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Came looking for best goalie outside the NHL not already signed by the Flames, leaving satisfied.

[Henry Fool]

Originally Posted by Pierre "Monster" McGuire

In the Back Burner, Henry Fool seemed very high on him. Good signing by the Hawks.

Not necessarily that high on him in terms of his NHL prospects. He was the MVP of the Finnish league both in the regular season and playoffs with an incredibly dominating perfomance - that's just a fact that came up a couple of times.

But he's not a big goalie and I can't really isolate any exceptional qualities in him. Looking at physical attributes, to me Ortio is more talented, for example, even though he's not as good. So I don't think he's a guaranteed success in the NHL. But he's not old either. I think he just turned 24.

He had signed with Ortio's team HIFK before, so this might leave open the possibility that Ortio stays there? I don't know. It has seemed like HIFK have been planning on not having Ortio next season.

[Dodsdomd]

Finns have the best names.

[Stampede2TheCup]

Originally Posted by Henry Fool

Not necessarily that high on him in terms of his NHL prospects. He was the MVP of the Finnish league both in the regular season and playoffs with an incredibly dominating perfomance - that's just a fact that came up a couple of times.

But he's not a big goalie and I can't really isolate any exceptional qualities in him. Looking at physical attributes, to me Ortio is more talented, for example, even though he's not as good. So I don't think he's a guaranteed success in the NHL. But he's not old either. I think he just turned 24.

He had signed with Ortio's team HIFK before, so this might leave open the possibility that Ortio stays there? I don't know. It has seemed like HIFK have been planning on not having Ortio next season.

There's a good chance HIFK already knew Raanta had strong interest from NHL teams at that point. Perhaps with the thought Ortio may end up in North America they took a gamble to have another chance at a good starter hoping that they get one of them back.

[Henry Fool]

Originally Posted by blah blah

There's a good chance HIFK already knew Raanta had strong interest from NHL teams at that point. Perhaps with the thought Ortio may end up in North America they took a gamble to have another chance at a good starter hoping that they get one of them back.

Everyone assumed from the start that Raanta is not likely to play in Finland next season. Makes it especially difficult to judge what HIFK is thinking. Maybe they know Ortio is leaving; maybe Ortio hasn't made any decision yet.

[Itse]

Raanta was chosen as the best player in the league for both the regular season and the playoffs this season, plus in a pretty straight up competition Raanta beat Ortio for the number one goalie spot for the national team. So really no debate that at this point the only thing Ortio has on Raanta is that he is younger.

However, the difference between 22 and 24 years is huge when it comes to goalies; at the same age that Ortio is now, Raanta was pretty much a nobody. If Ortio can find the same level of consistency and mental resiliency that Raanta has, he's going to be great.

Big if though.

[vilzeh]

They got a good deal, 1 year, so there's no risk. Good sign imo.

[Huntingwhale]

He will lead the Hawks to Stanley Cup glory