Nashville Predators sign Juuse Saros to eight-year contract extension

The Nashville Predators have agreed to terms on an eight-year contract with goaltender Juuse Saros.

The deal comes with an AAV of $7.74 million.

It’s been a busy day for the Predators, who signed Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, Brady Skjei and backup goaltender Scott Wedgewood as free agents. GM Barry Trotz also inked Alexandre Carrier to an extension.

Last season, Saros went 35-24-5 with a .906 SV% and 2.86 GAA and three shutouts.

Through nine NHL seasons, Saros has an 182-119-32 record with a .917 SV% and 2.63 GAA in 350 career games. The 29-year-old netminder has been one of the NHL’s most prolific goalies, leading the league in games played in the last three seasons.

In 2021-22, he was a Veznia Trophy finalist, going 38-25-3 with a .918 SV% and 2.64 GAA.

Now, with Yaroslav Askarov – one of the top goalie prospects in the game – set to begin a third year in the AHL, there’s questions about his future with Saros signed long term, and Wedgewood signing for two years.

“If you’ve just signed Saros to an eight-year deal, there is zero point having a goalie of that pedigree sitting in the AHL,” Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli said on Daily Faceoff Live last week. “So, he becomes an immediate trade target and I’m really curious to see who tries to step up and land a player like that.

The Predators have just $595,801 in cap space, according to CapFriendly. The team currently has 20 players signed to deals for 2024-25, with AHLers Juuso Parssinen, Philip Tomasino, Marc Del Gaizo, Spencer Stastney and Adam Wilsby needing new contracts.