Top Trade Landing Spots for Predators Goalie Juuse Saros Amid NHL Rumors
All right, Nashville Predators fans. Let's relax for a moment.
Juuse Saros is Nashville's No. 1 goalie without a doubt, but he's struggled a bit this season compared to what we've grown accustomed to seeing from him (24-21-2; .905 save percentage; minus-1.9 goals saved above expected, per Moneypuck).
His history has shown that the 28-year-old is a great goalie, and the Predators wouldn't be in a playoff spot without him.
Nashville does have the future to consider, though.
The Preds are in the middle of a soft rebuild, and Saros has one year left on his contract. Top prospect goalie Yaroslav Askarov is crushing it with Milwaukee in the AHL.
The 21-year-old's .920 save percentage is tied for sixth-best in the league. His five shutouts are second-most, and his 2.11 goals-against average is third-best. His time to join the NHL is coming very soon, likely next season.
Trading Saros is probably not something general manager Barry Trotz has in mind, especially since the team is in a playoff position.
However, if Trotz does decide to trade the Finn, where would he most likely go? Let's have a look.
New Jersey Devils
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It's been obvious for a while that goaltending is the New Jersey Devils' big weakness. It was an issue that could have been addressed in the offseason but wasn't.
The Devils are fighting for a playoff spot, and getting a goalie now at a maximum cost is what it's going to take to help them get into the postseason.
They've been rumored to be after Jacob Markstrom in Calgary, per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman (h/t Flames Nation). And after the Flames dealt away Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm and now Chris Tanev, the netminder may well be next.
However, if the Devils want to get really bold and lock in a goalie with a more consistent performance history, then taking a swing for Saros is the move to make.
New Jersey has the kinds of prospects and young players who can play in the NHL now or very soon, which would be vital for how the Predators are handling their own rebuild on the fly.
Saros would instantly fix what's ailing the Devils, even while having a down season.
Philadelphia Flyers
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The Philadelphia Flyers are in a somewhat similar situation as the Nashville Predators.
Both teams are in position to make the playoffs despite being in the middle of a rebuild, and the Flyers are suddenly a team that might also be in search of a goalie to lead them.
The Flyers have Samuel Ersson leading the way, but things get dicey beyond the 24-year-old.
Cal Petersen was put on waivers Wednesday, and Felix Sandstrom will attempt to reassert himself as the backup. With Carter Hart facing a sexual assault charge, Philadelphia is likely looking for a long-term solution in goal.
Although the Flyers really like Ersson, and he has played well this season, acquiring Saros would solidify the position and open the door for them to offer an extension to retain him beyond this season and next.
The main issue for Philly is that it would be counterproductive to what a rebuilding team should do. The Flyers have players who could be helpful in their playoff chase (Sean Walker, Nick Seeler for example), but as far as dealing futures away to land Saros? That would seem unlikely.
Carolina Hurricanes
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Goaltending has been a haunted position for Carolina in recent years.
Injuries have hurt them at playoff time, whether it was Frederik Andersen, Antti Raanta or both fighting maladies. The same can be said this year, and with the pressure firmly on the Flyers to get to the Stanley Cup Final, making a run at Saros would be beyond bold.
Pyotr Kochetkov has played well after taking over for Andersen and Raanta this season. The Hurricanes are developing the 24-year-old and making sure to not overwhelm him at the NHL level, and it's looking good so far.
But can Carolina go into the postseason with Kochetkov, Spencer Martin and a potentially healthy Andersen and feel good about their prospects to go deep into the playoffs? If they don't, making a move for Saros would be confirmation of their determination to succeed.
The 'Canes have other far more pressing to address with their lineup because Kochetkov has played so well, but after years of being burned by bad luck and injuries in goal, high-priced insurance would provide a lot of peace of mind.
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Edmonton Oilers
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If the Predators are going to go rogue and deal their No. 1 goalie, sending him to another Western Conference foe would take a monster offer and even that might not be enough to make it happen.
However, the Edmonton Oilers are a desperate team. They've been fumbling about in the playoffs with Connor McDavid in his prime for years now and goaltending has been their Achilles' heel much of the time.
Even this season has shown that netminding is a root cause of their successes and failures.
Their miserable start to the year came when neither Jack Campbell nor Stuart Skinner played well, but their recent 16-game win streak was due to the latter playing brilliantly. But the inevitable cool-down after the winning run coincided with Oilers goaltending crashing back to earth.
Edmonton cannot waste any more time sputtering around with McDavid trying to singlehandedly carry them to the Stanley Cup.
Skinner and Calvin Pickard have been fine this year, but pushing all their chips to the middle of the table to land Saros would be the kind of move to show the Oilers are taking the position and McDavid's own toil seriously.
Los Angeles Kings
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We'll say this right off the bat: This isn't a trade that will happen at all. Probably.
The Predators and Kings are tied in the wild-card race with each team holding down a spot. They're direct competitors for the playoffs and are trying to keep the Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild and Seattle Kraken at bay.
However, if the Predators felt confident in pressing Askarov into action and could extract their own needs out of the Kings while moving Saros to Los Angeles to help them secure their own goaltending...
It's far-fetched, but the Kings' struggles over the past couple of months can be attributed to goaltending. They lost Pheonix Copley to injury in December, and Cam Talbot has cooled off in a big way since Christmas, going 2-8-3 with an .895 save percentage.
Goaltending is a problem for the Kings and adding someone of Saros' caliber would change the temperature in the West drastically.
That said, the likelihood of these two teams making this kind of trade right now is very low, if not non-existent. It would be really spicy if they did, though.
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