As the Nashville Predators weigh their options before Friday's trade deadline, could franchise staple Juuse Saros be on the move to another team?
On its face, it would seem as though the likely answer to that would be no. The Predators are on a roll, and have played their way into the thick of the playoff race by going 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.
First-year general manager Barry Trotz told The Tennessean that he is leaning toward adding to his team rather than selling, but adding to the team and moving Saros for a big return are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
Saros is one of the league's better goaltenders, reliably finishing as one of the eight or so best in the league every year since he took over the Nashville net from his countryman Pekka Rinne.
But he doesn't quite have the Vezina Trophy-winning upside that the very best netminders in the league do, and Nashville has a player in the pipeline who does.
When the Predators used a high first round pick on Yaroslav Askarov in 2020, it was a statement that the Russian phenom was eventually going to be the team's franchise goaltender.
Askarov has done nothing except tear up the AHL and prove his pedigree in the years since, and at some point Saros is going to give way.
Could it make sense for the Predators to move Saros for future assets or as part of a deal to bring in more skater help for this current roster while turning the net over to Askarov and building around the younger, cheaper goalie? Stranger things have happened.
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NHL Trade Deadline: Juuse Saros
Contract Situation: Expiring after 2024-2025 at a $5 million cap hit
Season Stats: 26-21-3 with a .907 save percentage and 2.85 goals against average
Possible Destinations: Carolina, Edmonton, Colorado, Toronto
Part of the reason the Predators could command a lot for Saros is the volume of contending teams that badly need an upgrade in terms of goaltending to maximize their chances of winning the Stanley Cup.
Carolina, Edmonton, Colorado, and Toronto have all been getting the job done with patchwork solutions and hot stretches from young goalies so far this season, but all four of those teams should not be relying on less-proven netminders to carry them deep into the playoffs.
All four of those teams are deep into their contention windows and can not afford to change it, and hope for a hot streak to get the job done.
According to Natural Stat Trick, Saros's 4.95 goals saved above average would represent slight improvements for Carolina and Edmonton and drastic ones for Colorado and Toronto.
Maybe Nashville would be hesitant to trade Saros within the Western Conference out of fear of running into him in the playoffs or having to face him next season, so perhaps Toronto is the right combination of major need and making sense.
The Leafs have young goaltender Joseph Woll returning from injury, but again, there's so much at stake for this Maple Leafs core that it would likely be prudent to get a proven star in net.
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