News: Barry Trotz working to extend Juuse Saros and sees no reason why he won't get it done

[Marc the Habs Fan]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1798156672277340503

Speaking of goalies, Nashville Predators GM Barry Trotz hopes to take Juuse Saros’ name out of the trade rumors by signing him to an extension this summer. He can do that as of July 1, and the plan is to meet with Saros’ agent, Kevin Epp, this week in Buffalo. Saros will be a UFA in July 2025.

“Yeah, we’re talking to ‘Juice’ and talking to his representative,” Trotz told The Athletic. “I think they want to get something done. I would like to get something done. So we’re going to work toward that. I haven’t been in any hurry because I don’t think there’s any reason why I won’t get it done.”

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[Cashville]

It's a tough one. I love Juuse, but we have solid tender future depth in Lank/Askarov and Saros has not brought his best game when it matters most in the playoffs. All that said, having a steady tender with potential to outright steal games is something you don't appreciate fully until you don't have it...many other team fans here can likely attest to that.

I'd potentially be down with something like a 3yr deal with a reasonable cap hit (should not be making more than Demko/Ullmark/Shesterkin/Binnington even if a few are due raises in 25-26). Really depends on how Trotz views the current win window; I still think we need several pieces to get there, and Saros can help land some of that.

 

[trellaine201]

Good for Saros. He must really like it in Nashville.

 

[CanadienShark]

What does this mean for Askarov? Sharks should be interested.

 

[Double Dion]

I think this is the right move by Nashville. You can trade him when Askarov proves he deserves the net full time. Right now he hasn't even proved he's a backup yet.

 

[Marc the Habs Fan]

What does this mean for Askarov? Sharks should be interested.

If I had to guess the timeline could look like this:

2024-25: Another year in the AHL to play a ton of games (he hasn't even played 100 AHL regular season games yet)
2025-26: Promoted to NHL to be the backup, plays 25 games
2026-27: Saros is now 31 years old, Askarov plays 30-35 games
2027-28: 50-50 split of the workload
2028-29: Saros traded, Askarov takes over at age 26

It's kind of how they did the Rinne to Saros transition.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

As expected.

 

[RN61k]

It's a tough one. I love Juuse, but we have solid tender future depth in Lank/Askarov and Saros has not brought his best game when it matters most in the playoffs. All that said, having a steady tender with potential to outright steal games is something you don't appreciate fully until you don't have it...many other team fans here can likely attest to that.

I'd potentially be down with something like a 3yr deal with a reasonable cap hit (should not be making more than Demko/Ullmark/Shesterkin/Binnington even if a few are due raises in 25-26). Really depends on how Trotz views the current win window; I still think we need several pieces to get there, and Saros can help land some of that.

He's a top 5-10 goalie, he's not signing for less than 7milaav and 7-8 years unless he takes a massive discount. You really think saros is getting a 3 year deal between 5-6million AAV? keep dreaming

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

What does this mean for Askarov? Sharks should be interested.

It means there is no immediate pressure on him being to step into the #1 role and he can transition into that role with a top flight mentor.

 

[TheBeard]

What does this mean for Askarov? Sharks should be interested.

Nashville should follow the Boston model of a 1a/1b split.

 

[sxvnert]

A four or five year deal makes sense.

 

[KevinRedkey]

It's a tough one. I love Juuse, but we have solid tender future depth in Lank/Askarov and Saros has not brought his best game when it matters most in the playoffs. All that said, having a steady tender with potential to outright steal games is something you don't appreciate fully until you don't have it...many other team fans here can likely attest to that.

I'd potentially be down with something like a 3yr deal with a reasonable cap hit (should not be making more than Demko/Ullmark/Shesterkin/Binnington even if a few are due raises in 25-26). Really depends on how Trotz views the current win window; I still think we need several pieces to get there, and Saros can help land some of that.

Consensus is Saros is a solid step above Binnington. Why would he deserve less than him exactly?

 

[hotpaws]

A four or five year deal makes sense.

and an 8 yr deal makes sense for Saros

 

[Soundgarden]

What does this mean for Askarov? Sharks should be interested.

I don't think we'll move him, we brought back goalie coach Mitch Korn this week (Hasek, Vokoun, Rinne, Saros), which bodes well for him.

 

[CanadienShark]

I don't think we'll move him, we brought back goalie coach Mitch Korn this week (Hasek, Vokoun, Rinne, Saros), which bodes well for him.

But... But... I want him.

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

He gets 8 years or walks… from Nashville or whoever trades for him. He’s a great goalie. Goalies are good until their mid 30s.

 

[BB88]

I think this is the right move by Nashville. You can trade him when Askarov proves he deserves the net full time. Right now he hasn't even proved he's a backup yet.

It just feels like Nashville is happy building a middle of the pack team. Saros/Askarov are their best trade assets to improve the team

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Nashville should follow the Boston model of a 1a/1b split.

Except right now Askarov is still having trouble holding onto a starting job at the AHL level. He may never even make the NHL. The Preds are doing the right thing bringing in Korn to work with him. But the timelines for Askarov and the Saros extension simply don’t line up, so the Preds are going to have to figure out what to do with Saros without being able to factor in too much about Askarov.

 

[General Fanager]

What does this mean for Askarov? Sharks should be interested.

It means nothing.

Saros and Askarov will be a tandem. Probably a really solid one too.

 

[centipede2233]

He gets 8 years or walks… from Nashville or whoever trades for him. He’s a great goalie. Goalies are good until their mid 30s.

Carey price says hi

 

[Taswell]

When Askarov is ready he'll split duties with Saros. Worked for Barry with Sorokin/Varlamov.

 

[herzausstein]

There were 11 goalies last season that were 33 or older and played atleast 10 games. 4 played 40 or more. Talbot, Fluery, Bobrovsky, and Markstrom.

You can add another 3 starters if you drop that age range down to 30. Mrazek, Lyon, and Hellebuyck all 31 or 30 years old.

Saros being a small in stature goalie may manage to make it 5 years on a new contract putting him at 35 but odds of him being even a backup level after that are very low. Only 2 goalies over the age of 35 last season (Fleury and quick). 1st one was a split start and didn't do great the other was a backup playing 27 games. Fleury has a caphit of 3.5 million and Quick is less than 1 million. 5 or 6 is absolutely the longest Saros should get and even that is risky.

 

[beardawg]

It just feels like Nashville is happy building a middle of the pack team. Saros/Askarov are their best trade assets to improve the team

It's pretty clear that Trotz isn't getting offers he thinks are good enough to improve them, no? He's stated his ask before and it's just not being met. They're a better team by keeping them both than trading for subpar returns

 

[613Leafer]

If I had to guess the timeline could look like this:

2024-25: Another year in the AHL to play a ton of games (he hasn't even played 100 AHL regular season games yet)
2025-26: Promoted to NHL to be the backup, plays 25 games
2026-27: Saros is now 31 years old, Askarov plays 30-35 games
2027-28: 50-50 split of the workload
2028-29: Saros traded, Askarov takes over at age 26

It's kind of how they did the Rinne to Saros transition.

Teams with potentially two quality goalies seem to take their time, with fans often expecting one of the goalies to be moved years earlier. Nashville will be hesitant to move Saros because Askarov is unproven at the NHL level, and they're hesitant to move Askarov because a top top goalie in his mid 20s on an ELC or RFA contract is very valuable.

Bruins held onto both Ulmark and Swayman last year. LA had Quick and a top goalie prospect in Bernier, and kept Bernier around in the AHL/NHL for like ~4-5 years. Canucks did the same with Luongo/Schneider, Ottawa did it with Anderson/Lehner, etc.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

He gets 8 years or walks… from Nashville or whoever trades for him. He’s a great goalie. Goalies are good until their mid 30s.

I think it's almost impossible he'd get 8 years. The Preds actually would let him walk in that case, and he doesn't want to walk, so that's not going to be on the table.

Something like 6x$6.67M with some limited NTC clauses is a fair compromise for both sides. It gives Saros a couple years more than is truly ideal from the Preds' POV, but at a Cap they can handle, and dodges the concerns of NMC clauses for Expansion. It gives Saros the job he wants and the chance to slide into the Rinne-mentor role in his twilight years the way he wants to. There aren't a lot of goalies in the NHL making more than $6.67M AAV, Saros doesn't have a Vezina or Stanley Cups or anything, that's still going to be a top-10 goalie contract, which is all he has really earned thus far. He doesn't need to push the contract boundaries the way some others might.