Antti Raanta on joining Rangers: 'I'm as excited as a little boy'
Antti Raanta won't get many opportunities to start for the New York Rangers, but that doesn't mean he's not optimistic about joining the organization.
The former Chicago Blackhawks goaltender gave a wide-ranging, controversial interview to a Finnish publication earlier this week, including a comment he later denied about hoping Chicago would be swept by the Nashville Predators in the 2015 playoffs.
The English translation of Raanta's profile posted by the magazine Saturday features that comment, as well as his reaction to being traded to the Rangers.
Raanta was at fellow Finnish goaltender Joni Ortio's wedding when he got the call.
"The news came out of the blue," he told Juha Luotola of Satakunnan Kansa. "I heard from my agent that 10 to 12 NHL teams were considering their goalie lineups but the Rangers didn't come up in the conversation."
The Blackhawks dealt Raanta to New York for forward Ryan Haggerty on June 27. The 26-year-old goalie knows he'll be the backup behind Henrik Lundqvist, but says there are still reasons to be positive.
"I'm not going to an easy place but there are all sorts of opportunities. The rink and team logo are legendary, the city is large and my wife is also very pleased. I'm as excited as a little boy."
Raanta went 7-4-1 with a 1.89 GAA and .936 save percentage in 14 games with the Blackhawks last season.