No trades coming despite Arizona Coyotes losing Raanta indefinitely
By James Reeve
The Arizona Coyotes were dealt a sorry blow with the news that starting goaltender Antti Raanta will be out indefinitely through injury.
Raanta is expected to miss the remainder of the 2018/19 season, with the Arizona Coyotes goalie having already missed time due to injury earlier in the campaign.
The big Finnish goalie has struggled to remain healthy since joining the Coyotes last season but managed to put up strong numbers for a struggling team in the process.
This year, Raanta put up similar numbers and looked to be firmly in the Vezina conversation before missing a few weeks with an injury.
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With Raanta out initially, the team struggled and things looked to be repeating the poor fortune of last season.
Raanta returned from his layoff but looked unconvincing in a heavy loss against the Colorado Avalanche.
Since then, Raanta has been placed on IR and was initially listed as week-to-week.
A four-game stretch before receiving this designation allowed Arizona Coyotes fans to get accustomed to a player that is likely to get a tonne of minutes throughout the rest of the season – Adin Hill.
Per NHL.com, the Coyotes are looking more likely to roll a rotation of goaltenders rather than look to trade for a replacement.
This leaves them with Hill and now-presumed starter Darcy Kuemper as their tandem moving forward.
Kuemper has had a shaky time in net this season, posting a 4-5-2 record while averaging 2.71 goals against and posting a save percentage of .914.
The former Minnesota Wild goalie has not yet truly impressed while wearing a Coyotes jersey, but Hill certainly has in the limited number of games he has featured in.
Hill has posted a respectable 4-2-0 record this season in the NHL and has stellar individual numbers.
He has a save percentage of .939, averaging just 1.62 goals against and posting a shutout during his winning record – which included four consecutive wins.
Losing Raanta for the season is a huge disappointment for the Coyotes, but they certainly have better depth at the position than many other teams in the league and if Calvin Pickard is able to get into a game and step up then things might not be as dire as they seem.
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What do you think Coyotes fans? Are you disappointed to lose Raanta? Should the team stick with the guys they have or should they make a trade? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!