Raanta or Smith?

[Justinsane87]

Have 3 goalies in my team but must drop to 2 since Raanta is back from his injury. For the rest of the season which one you'd like better? W, L, GA, SV, SHO

[Tobias Funke]

Raanta

[SeaDawg]

Smith

[WHLinsider]

Raanta should be the choice here

[hockeyrobot]

Raanta over Smith.

[SeaDawg]

I'm a little surprised that Smith isn't getting more consideration, given that he seems to be the go-to option early on in Edmonton and Arizona has Keumper, Comrie, and Raanta on the roster. Seems like a crowded crease, and with Keumper recently re-signed to a lucrative extension, and Raanta's injury history, I'm not very confident that Raanta plays more than 30 games this year.

[Tobias Funke]

I'm a little surprised that Smith isn't getting more consideration, given that he seems to be the go-to option early on in Edmonton and Arizona has Keumper, Comrie, and Raanta on the roster. Seems like a crowded crease, and with Keumper recently re-signed to a lucrative extension, and Raanta's injury history, I'm not every confident that Raanta plays more than 30 games this year.

Raanta’s injury issues would be my only concern, but when healthy he has put up stellar numbers for them and will be their choice to carry the load. I do also feel that Smith will remain Edmonton’s guy but at his age I see more of a 60/40 split. Finally, I just feel that Arizona is significantly better defensively than is Edmonton.

[Smurf06]

The only thing about Raanta is that he is injured all the time. He is on a better team(yes I said it even though I am an Oilers fan). The thing is how valuable is Raanta if he is in the therapy room all the time? Right now Mike Smith is at least playing and he is giving you a chance to get a win. I'd go with Mike Smith.

[ross10019]

I've read quite a bit on Raanta lately, as I picked him up off waivers as a 3rd option behind Holtby and Dubnyk.

It's interesting because while he's considered a "bandaid boy" on this forum, the reality is he was not injury-prone at all until last year when he left early and missed most of the season. So I think that may be a bit over-stated.

I think Arizona, having just signed Kuemper for two more years at $4M (around same as Raanta's next two year cap hit), is looking at this as the new way of addressing goalie needs, as is Boston and a couple of other teams. You bring in a very capable backup (eg, Halak, or in this case Kuemper) and you turn it into a timeshare as much as possible, to avoid injury and keep the goalies fresh. Given that neither Kuemper (until last year) or Raanta (except 17/18) has ever shouldered a workhorse workload, mainly being backups for their teams, tends to suggest that will continue in Arizona.

So what does that tell me?

1. Kuemper and Raanta both had terrific stats in 18/19 and 17/18, respectively - I mean Vezina-level.
2. They are each backstopping an underrated defensive squad, with emphasis on defense to win hockey games.
3. Neither goalie is likely to "run with it" except for brief periods. A recent Tocchet interview emphasized that. Sure if one guy's hot they may ride him for a few weeks, but otherwise it'll be an even split, which is how Dobber called it in his guide.
4. Raanta is by all accounts 100% now, and tossed out a 19-save shutout in his only start in Tucson last week.
5. Raanta is beloved in the locker room.
6. There are some suggestions that the Kuemper signing may have been about having a trading chip at the deadline, whether that trading chip is Kuemper or Raanta, either way Raanta could get a pathway to more workhorse starter.
7. The Comrie signing is a depth move - he's an intriguing prospect and they didn't feel they could pass up what he might have to offer. Check out this piece by Cat Silverman from today's Athletic: https://theathletic.com/1276278/2019...tending-depth/

My feeling is Raanta is an excellent underrated add in leagues that count GAA, SV% and Saves. Only downside is the Ws category.

[Justinsane87]

I think I'll go with the majority here guys and keep Raanta.

Thanks all for the help!