The Carolina Hurricanes took care of their own to open free agency on Saturday, re-signing goaltenders Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta to secure the club's depth in net.
Andersen has been the Hurricanes' starter since joining them as an unrestricted free agent in 2021. He returns on a two-year deal worth $3.4 million per season. Raanta inked a one-year deal worth $1.5 million to be Andersen's projected backup, a role Raanta has primarily held the last two seasons.
One of the more interesting names on the goaltending market this summer, Andersen figured to attract interest because of his success with the Hurricanes last year. That said, the veteran was up and down in the postseason as Carolina fizzled in the Eastern Conference Finals, so questions remained about how many teams would actually call his camp.
Andersen, 33, went 21-11-1 with a 2.48 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage, as the Hurricanes won the Metropolitan Division and finished No. 2 overall in the regular season to the Boston Bruins.
In the postseason, he wasn't the full-time starter, appearing in nine games across three rounds. He closed with a 5-3 record, but in facing elimination against the Florida Panthers, and trying to avoid a sweep, he allowed four goals on 24 shots in a 4-3 loss.
Critics will point to his inconsistencies, and the notion that the ultra-defensive style employed by Carolina may help to mask some of them. But at 6-foot-4 and 238 pounds, the 2012 third-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks is still an imposing presence in the paint, and he proved he could still stop pucks at a high rate in the Eastern Conference.
The end of the Hurricanes' season meant Andersen's two-year, $9 million deal also closed. Depending on how the market for netminders gained momentum, and given his age, it was expected that his next deal wasn't going to be in that $4.5 million annual range, so the number Carolina settled on seems apropos. Still, Andersen should retain a good opportunity to once again be Carolina's No. 1 between the pipes.
Despite more limited duties, Raanta also authored an impressive season. He helped Carolina become a No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, while racking up statistical totals that traditionally result in decent-sized deals in free agency.
But at 34, and with Carolina's sweep out of the postseason, Raanta wasn't expected to attract an overwhelmingly lucrative deal. He played the past two seasons with an average annual value of $2 million in Carolina, after earning $4.3 million the season before from the Arizona Coyotes, so his 2023-24 salary also seems appropriate.