Each NHL team’s best contract heading into the 2019-20 season

Arizona Coyotes – Antti Raanta

Contract: $4.25 million over the next two years

The Arizona Coyotes are an interesting team as far as contracts are concerned. They have just 14 players signed for the 2020-21 season and merely six signed for the 2021-22 season.

Antti Raanta had a lost season thanks to injuries. He got off to a slow start in November after a great start in October, posting a .907 save percentage in 12 games overall. Injuries didn’t give him a chance to bounce back.

Raanta is the 23rd highest paid goalie in the NHL. He has performed at a rate much better than that. Over the past three seasons, no goaltender with at least 2,000 minutes of playing time has a higher GSAA/60 (goals saved above average per hour) rate than Raanta’s 0.39.

He performs like a franchise goaltender and gets paid like he’s a lower-tier starter. That’s an outstanding bargain.

Of the goaltenders in the top 10 in GSAA/60 over the past three seasons, only two (John Gibson and Juuse Saros) have a higher expected goals against per hour rate than him. Raanta has struggled to stay healthy, but when he’s on the ice, he’s one of the best goaltenders in the NHL.

Honorable mentions: The Coyotes are only responsible for $6.8 million of Phil Kessel’s cap hit for the next three years. $6.8 million for a player as talented as Kessel is highway robbery.

Nick Schmaltz’s deal ($5.85 million cap hit for the next seven seasons) could wind up being a nice bargain down the road.