Andersen, Raanta win Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed

Raleigh, N.C. — The National Hockey League today announced that Carolina Hurricanes goaltenders Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta have been named the winners of the 2021-22 William M. Jennings Memorial Trophy, presented annually to the goaltenders having played at least 25 games for the team allowing the fewest goals.

The Hurricanes allowed a league-low 202 goals this season, tied for the fewest goals against in any 82-game season in franchise history (1998-99). Andersen and Raanta are the first-ever Whalers/Hurricanes netminders to win the award.

Andersen, 32, previously won the Jennings Trophy alongside John Gibson with Anaheim in 2015-16, and he has become the eighth goaltender in NHL history to win the award with multiple teams. He has posted a 35-14-3 record, 2.17 goals-against average, .922 save percentage and four shutouts in 52 appearances this season and ranks second in goals-against average and tied for third in save percentage among all NHL netminders with at least 10 games played in 2021-22. The 6’4”, 238-pound goaltender also leads the league with four assists, the most in a season by any Hartford/Carolina netminder since Sean Burke recorded six in 1995-96.

Andersen went 17-8-1 on the road in 2021-22, setting a new single-season franchise record for road wins in a season by a goaltender. He opened the season with wins in each of his first eight appearances, becoming the third goaltender in NHL history to record a win in each of his first eight games with a franchise. Andersen later improved to 34-13-3, tied for the second-most wins by any netminder in league history through his first 50 games with a franchise. He was also named to the NHL All-Star Game for the second time in his career and helped lead the Metropolitan Division to victory in the three-on-three tournament.

Raanta, 32, has posted a 15-5-4 record, 2.45 goals-against average, .912 save percentage and two shutouts in 28 appearances in his first season with Carolina. The 6’0”, 195-pound goaltender earned a win in his Hurricanes debut against Chicago on Oct. 29 and began the season with a 5-2-1 record, posting his first Hurricanes shutout against Montreal on Dec. 30. Raanta finished the regular season with a 9-2-3 record in his last 16 games, and over that span, he became the ninth Finnish goaltender in NHL history to earn 100 career wins against Pittsburgh on Feb. 20 and posted a 36-save shutout against Colorado on March 10.

Andersen and Raanta both signed with Carolina as free agents in the offseason, and they have become the first tandem in NHL history to win the Jennings Trophy while both in their first campaign with a franchise. Seven other goaltenders have previously accomplished the feat alone or as part of a duo, with the most recent instance coming in 2018-19 (Robin Lehner, NY Islanders).

Alex Lyon (1-0-1), Jack LaFontaine (0-1-0) and Pyotr Kochetkov (3-0-0) also played seven total games in net with the Hurricanes this season, as Carolina became the 11th different team in NHL history to have five goaltenders make their franchise debuts in a single campaign. Lyon posted a win in his Hurricanes debut against St. Louis on Nov. 13, and Kochetkov won his first career NHL/Hurricanes game against New Jersey on April 23, as Carolina became the first team in NHL history to have four different netminders register wins in their franchise debuts in the same season.