The Blackhawks third Stanley Cup victory in six years was cherished by every player on the team - everyone that is, except for Antti Raanta.
Having seen his playing time as backup to Corey Crawford dwindle and after falling to third on the team's depth chart with the sudden rise to prominence of Scott Darling during the playoffs, Raanta admitted that he just wanted the team to get eliminated so that he could go home.
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When the Blackhawks took on the Predators in Round 1, eventually winning in six games, Raanta revealed he was hoping that they would get swept as he watched from the press box as a third-string netminder.
"With fingers crossed I hoped Nashville would beat us in four so I could get back to Finland sooner," Raanta said in an interview with Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat. I was so pissed."
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Raanta also divulged he would have preferred to play in the AHL than sit in the press box, but he was able to bring the Cup to Finland with him earlier this summer, something he won't soon forget.
Antti Raanta poses with one of his biggest fans in hometown of Rauma. #stanleycup @HockeyHallFame @NHLBlackhawks pic.twitter.com/MLT26OtLB1
— Philip Pritchard (@keeperofthecup) July 23, 2015
Crawford struggled in the early part of the postseason and gave way to Darling in the crease, but he eventually won his job back and led the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup. Raanta didn't see any of the playoff action after playing in 14 regular season games and recording a 7-4-1 record with a 1.89 goals-against average. The backstop's .936 save percentage was identical to Darling's, but he ended up getting surpassed by him for playing time in the playoffs.
Says Raanta: "With fingers crossed I hoped NSH would beat us (CHI) in four so I could get back to Finland sooner. I was so pissed." — Vesa Rantanen (@vrantanen) September 2, 2015
Overall, Darling started four games and played in five last spring, while Crawford handled starting duties in 19 of the clubs 23 playoff matches. Raanta has yet to play between the pipes in the playoffs in his career.
The Blackhawks dealt Raanta to the Rangers during the postseason and he'll now serve as the backup to Henrik Lundqvist. The New York netminder dealt with a serious vascular injury last season, which led to his backup Cam Talbot carving out a name for himself down the stretch.
The Rangers made it to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014 and have been to the Eastern Conference Finals in three of the last four seasons. Raanta is excited for an opportunity with a new club, even if he's shadowing Lundqvist.
"At first you get a little bit excited, because it's a great opportunity," Raanta told the Chicago Sun-Times at the time of the trade. "But it's a little sad also. It's a great organization in Chicago, and everybody has been great to me. They gave me an opportunity to play hockey, and to win the Stanley Cup. But I'm looking forward and I'm excited to go to New York and get a fresh start again."
Raanta may get lambasted for his comments, but at least he was honest.
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