Photo Credit: Chicago Blackhawks
Just because you have a Stanley Cup Ring and seasons worth of experience, doesn’t mean you can be handed a title just because.
This is the case for New York Rangers goalie Antti Raanta, who Alain Vigneault isn’t ready to name as Henrik Lundqvist’s backup just yet. Vigneault took to Twitter to express the reasoning behind his decision saying, “It’s an open battle between Raanta and Magnus Hellberg.”
Raanta played in 12 games during the regular season with the Chicago Blackhawks, averaging 1.89 goals-against, .936 save percentage, and two shutouts. He didn’t get the chance to play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but his name will be on the cup and he got to spend a day with it in Finland during the offseason. Raanta was traded to the Rangers in late June in exchange for forward Ryan Haggerty.
The other potential backup that Vigneault has his eyes on is Hellberg, a 24 year old who was acquired through a trade with the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2017 draft pick. He has only had one NHL appearance since the 2013-14 season.
Both contenders will be dressed and ready to play for the first two Rangers preseason games and they’ll both get a chance to block the net in each competition.
The Rangers traded their backup Cam Talbot to the Edmonton Oilers the same day they made the trade for Raanta.
Tonight marks the first of six preseason games for the Rangers. By game 1, we should have a verdict and a highly-committed backup.
