Antti Raanta The Oiler?

We’ve discussed, at length, about the possible return for D Jeff Petry via trade. We know Petry is likely to be dealt, but we can’t come to an agreement on return. Will it be a first-round pick? A second-rounder and a prospect? What about an actual NHL body? We’ve heard it all, and within the last 48 hours, another name has emerged as a possible return.

His name? Antti Raanta, goalie of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Back in the summer of 2013, Raanta was called “the best goalie not in the NHL” by many scouts, and a bidding war of sorts ensued. Many teams, including the Edmonton Oilers, attempted to sign the Finnish goalie, but it was the Blackhawks who walked away with that summer’s Euro prize.

Raanta started his North American career in the AHL, playing in 14 games for the Rockford IceHogs and posting a .914 SV% with a 7-5-0 record. Good, but certainly not great numbers for a guy so hyped up. Raanta was then recalled to the NHL, where he played in 25 contests.

With the Hawks, Raanta posted a poor .897 SV% with a 13-5-4 record. He can thank the team in front of him for those wins, because he simply was not good enough for Chicago through this stretch. This led to more AHL time this year, his second pro season.

He has played in one game for the IceHogs so far this year, posting a .943 SV% and winning the game. In the NHL, he’s 7-4-1 in 14 appearances with a .936 SV%, much, much better.

So, with the improvement this season, why is Chicago willing to deal Raanta? Plain and simple, they have their guy, and his name is Corey Crawford. The Hawks are committed long-term to Crawford, who has already won a Stanley Cup with the team. On top of that, AHL veteran Scott Darling has emerged as a solid and cheap back-up option for the team.

Raanta, who will likely walk once he reaches UFA status, has become a trade chip for Chicago. He’s not passing Crawford anytime soon, so they might as well move him.

The Hawks need defensive help, which is what makes the Jeff Petry rumor sound possible. Would the Hawks move Raanta to Edmonton for Jeff Petry? It certainly seems possible at this point, at least people are talking about it being possible.

The Blackhawks appear open to moving the Finnish netminder, and are looking for defensive help, while Edmonton was keenly interested in the player back in the summer of 2013. The dots are there, and connecting them shows a perfect possible trade scenario.

Now, should Edmonton be interested in Antti Raanta? I’m not so sure, to be honest. Yes, Raanta has been very good this season (.936 Sv%), but it is in a small sample size. Sure, he’s played in 14 games, but that’s not a lot of games, certainly not enough to base the future off of. This could very well just be a hot-stretch for Raanta, the exception and not the norm.

That’s a scary thought, because Edmonton already rolled the dice and gambled on Ben Scrivens and Viktor Fasth. We know the results weren’t good, in fact these two sunk the season back in October and November with their play. Gambling on Antti Raanta is basically the same thing, just one year later with a different name.

Now, there is always the possibility that Raanta is actually just emerging as a goalie at this level. He was a rookie in North America last year, and an adjustment period isn’t unusual. Maybe he was just adjusting and struggled at the start. He was much better later in 2013-14 than he was at the start, so maybe he is actually hitting his stride now.

If he is in fact just hitting his stride now, then maybe Edmonton gets the next Ben Bishop kind of move, as Matt Henderson alluded to on twitter earlier on Friday. (BTW, Matt has a great piece on this topic here. Also, Bruce McCurdy touched on the subject recently. You can read his piece here.)

Would I make a trade of Jeff Petry for Antti Raanta and a third round pick? Yes, I absolutely would if that was the best offer. I’d prefer a first round pick, but if it’s between a meh-prospect, a second-rounder, or an Antti Raanta centered deal, I’m taking the Raanta deal.

That said, I’m a little hesitant of entering next season with Ben Scrivens and Antti Raanta as the goaltending tandem. Both are unproven, and have only posted starter’s numbers over short stretches of time. I’d prefer a veteran option in net next year, a guy like Antti Niemi or Craig Anderson, over another unproven tandem.

We wait.