Three potential trade chips to bolster the haul from the 2022 NHL draft
By Conor Power
One of the netminders
I am going to preface this by saying that this is one I fully believe shouldn’t happen. I would rather keep the two William M Jennings winners than move one out and try to force a kid into the NHL right now.
However, the crease seems to be a little crowded right now and a lot of fans would enjoy seeing the youngest of the three goalies get a shot in the NHL next year. I personally believe that the team should stay with Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta, but I do understand the appeal of bringing Pyotr Kochetkov into the NHL full-time. We know that the Russian netminder is borderline NHL-ready, and fans are excited.
Raanta was the Canes stalwart this postseason as he filled in for the injured Andersen as the duo made sure that they took home the William M Jennings Trophy for the lowest goals-against by a duo in the NHL. They became the first duo to win this trophy with both netminders being in their first seasons with a franchise. Not only did they win trophies, but they broke records by winning them.
Andersen’s injury in the playoffs accompanied by Raanta’s performances has some fans of the opinion that the team can move on from the netminder that came fourth in Vezina voting. Making just $4.5 million against the cap for next year and the goalie free-agent market being relatively thin, Andersen could net a good haul if the Canes look to move him.
Raanta is the other prime candidate to get moved. At $2 million against the cap and the numbers he put up this summer, he’s going to hold a lot of value. It’s very Hurricanes to sell high on their assets and right now, Antti Raanta’s value is at an all-time high. Father Finn will hold a lot of value to a team like Edmonton or Toronto looking for cost-controlled netminding.