Goalies Signing Early In Free Agency Day

Early news drops with some netminders signing:

34 year old Antti Raanta is extending his stay in Carolina. He has agreed to a one year $1.5M deal. During the 2022-2023 season Raanta had a record of 19-3-3 with a GAA of 2.23 and save percentage of .910.

26 year year old Mackenzie Blackwood will be signing a two year deal that will carry a $2.5M AAV. Blackwood was acquired by trhe Sharks for a 6th round pick in the 2023 draft. The Sharks opted to non-tender Blackwood with fear that he would file for salary arbitration and going to a hearing. As a result, they opted to not tender him the $3.36M qualifying offer and are now getting him for an amount that's considerably lower. Its been a rough couple seasons for Blackwood, he has failed to record above a .900 save percentage since the 2020-2021 season. Maybe he can bounce back in California.

29 year old Anothony Stolarz has signed with the Florida Panthers on a one year $1M cap hit. Stolarz had a 5-6-0 record during the 2022-2023 for a not very good Anaheim Ducks team. Stolarz will provide Florida with a secondary option in case backup Spencer Knight remains unavailable to the team to start 2023-24. The goaltender is expected to return to the team after spending the last few months of the season in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, but it's not confirmed.