Shipped to Arizona along with top-line center Derek Stepan in June, Raanta will get his first chance to serve as a No. 1 netminder after acting as the understudy to Corey Crawford in Chicago and then Henrik Lundqvist in New York for his first four NHL seasons. Over the past three, Raanta hasn't posted a save mark lower than .919, and Cam Talbot’s success upon moving to Edmonton after backing up Lundqvist gives us a framework to analyze what the Finn might do now that he’s escaped the shadows of two star goalies. He'll have the benefit of a blue line that's added defensive specialist Niklas Hjalmarsson, with whom Raanta is familiar from their time together with the Blackhawks, as well as Stepan’s own-zone proficiency -- a much-needed attribute in the desert, as the Coyotes have been known as a soft target for opposing offenses in recent seasons. He should easily fend off any challenge for playing time that may be posed by mediocre backup Louis Domingue.