Four possible destinations if Nashville Predators trade goaltender Juuse Saros

Credit: Juuse Saros (© Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports)

With less than two months until the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline March 8, we’re delivering at least one deadline-focused story every day at Daily Faceoff.

Today, we open pandora’s box on one of the more polarizing names surfacing in the rumor mill: Nashville Predators’ star goaltender Juuse Saros. Should we still trust GM Barry Trotz’s early-season claim that Saros wasn’t available? Or have things changed over the course of the Preds’ mediocre 2023-24 campaign?

2024 NHL Trade Deadline Countdown: 39 days

Zero. No chance. Pipe dream. That was the emphatic message new Preds GM Barry Trotz gave Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli when they spoke earlier this season about the possibility of trading Saros. The league’s smallest netminder (5-foot-11, 180 lbs) has been as important to the franchise as any player over the past few seasons; he almost singlehandedly willed them to the playoffs in 2021-22 before a late-season injury kept him from participating. Saros’ .918 career SV% is tops in franchise history. When Trotz slid into his new gig aggressively by signing veteran leaders Ryan O’Reilly and Luke Schenn last summer, it sent the message that Nashville wanted to reload, not retool, following its playoff miss in 2022-23. Nashville’s No. 1 goaltender, fresh off three consecutive top-six finishes in the Vezina Trophy vote, was not a piece Trotz could remove from the puzzle.

Wait: puzzle or house of cards? A few months later, Trotz might have the benefit of more perspective. Nashville occupies its usual playoff bubble position, tied with the St. Louis Blues in the second Western Conference Wildcard spot at 54 points. The Preds are on track to finish fourth or fifth in the Central Division for a fifth consecutive season and pick between 11^th and 24^th overall in the first round of the NHL Draft a fifth consecutive year. Yawn. Mediocrity breeds more mediocrity, and Trotz’s decision to add veterans, just days after jettisoning the cap hits of Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen, was an act of denial.

If Nashville ever wants to be something more than the poster child for ‘Mid,’ it has to consider bottoming out and picking higher in the Draft. Trading Saros could constitute a step in that direction. Or would it? Yaroslav Askarov, on the shortlist of the best goaltending prospects in the world, is tearing up the AHL. Saros, meanwhile, is laboring through his worst season as an NHL starter. It’s not even a guarantee Nashville would downgrade in net by moving Saros anyway – and it could secure an incredibly useful pile of assets by moving him. Disappointing numbers aside, Saros, 28, still ranked second among all NHL goalies in goals saved above average per 60 across the previous three seasons. He’s a difference maker, he’s in the discussion for the best skating goaltenders in the game, and he has an extra year left on his deal at a criminally low $5 million AAV. He would likely command a first-round pick, a top prospect and perhaps a useful NHL roster player.

Moving Saros could actually allow Trotz to have his cake and eat it too: add some major assets to fortify the team’s future while opening the door to the Askarov era. As Seravalli said on a recent episode of Daily Faceoff Live, “It doesn’t really make sense to have two goalies as good as Saros and Askarov in one crease.” While the implication has been a willingness to move Askarov, the offers for Saros, an established star, would be far more generous.

With that in mind: which teams have good reason to make an aggressive play for Saros?

Carolina Hurricanes

Why he makes sense: The Canes under owner Tom Dundon haven’t been known as the boldest spenders, and that’s why it meant so much when they ponied up for Dmitry Orlov and Michael Bunting in the offseason for more than $12 million combined cap dollars. After so many dominant seasons under coach Rod Brind’Amour without reaching a Stanley Cup Final, it’s time to break through. Carolina’s 28-15-5 record and second-place standing in the Metropolitan Division belie their quality of play. This team has the league’s No. 10 offense, No. 2 power play, and No. 4 penalty kill and leads the NHL in 5-on-5 shot attempt share. Holding Carolina back? Save percentage. The Canes rank 30^th. Between Frederik Andersen, Antti Raanta and Pyotr Kochetkov, it’s been a revolving door of poor play, injuries and, in Andersen’s case, worse: a blood clot scare. If Andersen stays on LTIR, Saros could slide into the starter’s role and form a tandem with Kochetkov – at a combined $7 million next season, too. The Canes already waived Raanta once this season, so they’ve established him as expendable.

What he might cost: Carolina has a first-round pick and a pair of seconds for the 2024 Draft – plus an underrated prospect pool, particularly when it comes to defensemen. Alexander Nikishin and Scott Morrow are favorites of Daily Faceoff prospect analyst Steven Ellis. Moving one of them would constitute a steep price; damn right it would. That’s what it will take to pry Saros away. And it’s time Carolina shoots its shot.

Fly in the ointment: Carolina would have to navigate a logjam in net if it brought in Saros. If Andersen gets a clean bill of health before the playoffs, his $3.4 million counts against the cap. If Raanta cleared waivers again and got sent down, $375,000 of his cap hit would still stay on the books, too. The Canes are employing Spencer Martin right now as well.

Los Angeles Kings

Why he makes sense: We know GM Rob Blake was taking a risk in the offseason when, after loading up with the Pierre-Luc Dubois acquisition, the Kings went cheap on goaltending, adding journeymen Cam Talbot and David Rittich for a combined $1.875 million. Early on this season, Blake looked brilliant, as Talbot played Vezina-caliber hockey from October through December, going 14-7-3 with a .924 SV%. But the Kings may have leaned on the injury-prone 36-year-old too much. He has sagged in January, going 0-6-2 with an .863 SV%. The Kings’ season has taken a disastrous turn, with top defenseman Drew Doughty calling out his own teammates in the media. Missing the playoffs is not an option given the Kings’ pre-season expectations. They could stop the bleeding by acquiring Saros and employing Talbot as a luxury backup.

What he might cost: While the Kings are short their second- and third-rounders for this coming Draft, they own their next three first-round picks. And despite sending some youth to the Winnipeg Jets in the Dubois deal, they still have a pretty loaded prospect crop. Brandt Clarke and Jordan Spence have jockeyed for position on the third pair. Clarke is likely untouchable, but would the Kings part with Spence? They also have a pair of former high-end prospects who would benefit from fresh starts in forwards Arthur Kaliyev and Alex Turcotte.

Fly in the ointment: Despite Talbot’s recent struggles, he has outplayed Saros overall this season. Backup David Rittich has also improved his play a lot in the New Year. Is it worth paying an incredibly high price if you’re not certain you’re upgrading in net?

New Jersey Devils

Why he makes sense: That’s pretty obvious at this point. The Devils own the NHL’s second-worst team save percentage at .881. Forget all their horrible injury luck: Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid are actually to blame for them sitting six points out of a playoff position. Nico Daws had a little moment but has regressed to what he is: an AHL goalie. The Devils are desperate in net and, with the extra year of term, Saros solves the problem for next year, too. That’s particularly alluring given New Jersey’s playoff odds for this season sit at 20.1 percent.

What he might cost: New Jersey gave up a first-round pick, a top prospect (Shakir Mukhamadullin) and an NHL player in Fabian Zetterlund in the package to get Timo Meier last year. It would probably cost something similar to land Saros. A first and Seamus Casey? Maybe. Don’t like that, Devils fans? Sorry, but it’s Saros, a top-five goalie over the past half decade. And your team when healthy might be one piece away from Stanley Cup worthy.

Fly in the ointment: Are the Devils far enough out of contention that they should simply regroup and solve their goaltending dilemma in the summer? They’re missing superstar Jack Hughes and their top defense pair of Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler. Upgrading in net might not save their season anyway. If they landed Saros in the summer they could sign him to an extension as part of a trade. He’s eligible to ink one as of July 1. Another option is for the Devils to aim for a cheaper addition in net such as Marc-Andre Fleury or James Reimer.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Why he makes sense: Ilya Samsonov has rediscovered some magic recently, but his next disastrous slump always feels just around the corner. Martin Jones popped for a bit but is a 34-year-old third stringer and that has begun to show again. Rookie Joseph Woll should be back for the stretch run and has looked the part of future star so far, but he’ll be returning from a high-ankle sprain, is already developing a worrisome injury history and has a career regular-season sample size of just 26 games. Can a supposed Stanley Cup contender trust that trio in the postseason?

What he might cost: The Leafs are pretty deep into their contention timeline and, after years of moving first-round picks, don’t have a robust prospect pool. Landing a big fish like Saros would require GM Brad Treliving to further deplete a cupboard that isn’t close to full. That could mean surrendering Topi Niemela, even one of Easton Cowan or Fraser Minten, possibly Nick Robertson if Nashville wanted an NHL-ready player. The Preds don’t have to move Saros, remember. It will take a bombastically good offer to win him.

Fly in the ointment: The Leafs aren’t good enough defensively to belong in the top tier of contenders this season. They’re arguably better off hedging their bets and hoping one of their three current options goes on a run. Historically, that isn’t the worst idea. Look at Adin Hill. Woll showed real poise in the playoffs last year and seems to have the right mental makeup for success. And if Treliving does decide to load up, the blueline is the priority. He needs to land a viable shutdown defenseman to play in the top four.

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