The goalie has missed the past five games with a lower-body injury. He had a procedure Saturday that revealed more extensive damage than was anticipated.
"The good news is that it was a great repair and his long-term health is in great standing," Chayka told the Coyotes website. "The recovery will be a little longer than we had hoped or expected, but at the same time, again, he has the ability to preserve his long-term health. That's the main thing, and we've been able to do that."
Arizona is 13-13-2 and entered Sunday five points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
Raanta is 5-6-0 with a 2.88 goals-against average and .906 save percentage this season. He is 26-23-6 with a 2.37 GAA and .925 save percentage in 59 games since he was acquired by the Coyotes in a trade from the New York Rangers on June 23, 2017; he signed a three-year contract with Arizona on April 6.
Darcy Kuemper, who began the season as Raanta's backup, has not played since Nov. 21 because of a lower-body injury.
"He's in good health, it's just a matter of getting his timing back," Chayka said. "He should be back in the short term. Obviously with Antti out, he's an important piece for us moving forward."
Rookie
Adin Hill
has started the past five games and went 3-2-0 with a 1.82 GAA and .936 save percentage.
Calvin Pickard
, acquired on waivers from the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 29, is also on the roster.
Chayka told TSN on Monday that the Coyotes will not seek a trade for a goaltender.
"No, we're going to go with our internal options," said Chayka.
