Rumor: Juuse Saros Signs 8 Year / $7.74 AAV Contract

[Porter Stoutheart]

It seems like LAK, CAR, and NJD are the only real options for Saros that make any sense. My stack rank on returns:

1. Byfield
2. Necas
3. Dawson Mercer
4. LAK D+F+picks (Spence/Clarke+Turcotte/Kaliyev/etc)

I don't think I see the right assets besides those combos to pull the trigger. Wildcard is Toronto offering Knies+a ton of other assets, but I still don't think that would do it for me.

I think of those teams, LA is mostly mentioned for historical reasons dating back to last summer... their goaltending has been a strength so far this season. They haven't been losing games due to goaltending. But anyway, LA and NJ are definitely two teams with enough young assets to at least submit bids.

It just won't be Byfield, now that he has broken out. And I think all the rest of LA's potentially available assets... the Spence/Kaliyev/Turcotte types... while they might be "interesting" in other scenarios, aren't really tracking as top tier NHL players. There are still question marks with some. That's just not the kind of asset that I make the focus of a deal for a star player like Saros. Not when we don't have any pressure whatsoever to move him. There's nothing that should force us to accept a pile of middle players in a Saros deal. We have "quantity" in our prospect pool already. More Tomasinos and Fabbros won't help us.

NJ is a team which I think SHOULD be seriously looking, anyway. They were expected to contend this year, and should feel pressure to make the playoffs, plus have had pretty spotty goaltending. But I still don't think they'll pay the price either.

I'm sure the NHL talking heads will be seeking clickbait material for the next 3 weeks, so we'll hear lots about it. I'm not going to hold my breath on anything actually happening, that's for sure.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

May be time to revisit this. Friedman speculates Necas as a potential target..

I would hope there's a bunch of futures attached to Necas. A 25 year old (2 years from UFA) with 1+ good season on a stacked team as we're heading into the tank isn't getting me super excited for a deal.

 

[Flgatorguy87]

We have to find the Byfield of last year to target. We can't wait until guys have already started to break out to target them. It's going to take some foresight and scouting to hit on one of these top 6 center potential guys. I like Kulich as a potential guy.

 

[herzausstein]

We have to find the Byfield of last year to target. We can't wait until guys have already started to break out to target them. It's going to take some foresight and scouting to hit on one of these top 6 center potential guys. I like Kulich as a potential guy.

Buffalo management is convinced Devon Levi is their future goalie and UPL is doing better than in goal than Saros is this season so they really dont have incentive to make move right now. That wouldve been a last summer move.

 

[BigFatCat999]

I voted wait till deadline to make choice. It is time to make a move. Does it suck, yup. It's time for the future.

 

[Flgatorguy87]

Who is the next Byfield? Those guys aren't just lying around. I know we want a center, but at the end of the day if it comes time to move Saros there are plenty of holes on this team. We need high end talent at any position at the moment.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Who is the next Byfield? Those guys aren't just lying around. I know we want a center, but at the end of the day if it comes time to move Saros there are plenty of holes on this team. We need high end talent at any position at the moment.

I don't think it's Kakko. But if you can buy low on a guy who was 2nd overall, who knows maybe outside the spotlight of the Big Apple he finds some way to rediscover himself... he was picked just the year before Byfield. It seems more likely he's going to bust instead, but hey, I'd rather pay less to take that chance than to spend Saros on rolling that dice.

If guys are actually perceived to have the kind of talent/upside to be top line players, their teams usually do know it, and they're not going to trade them for a goalie. Even though we here talked about Byfield in the summer, LA still said NO, before Byfield's breakout. So I think it may be an illusion to think we can truly find that guy via trade.

 

[herzausstein]

I just have a feeling if we get anyone under the age 23 they end up with under 10 mins of ice time or in Milwaukee anyways so it dont matter

 

[Predsanddead24]

I just have a feeling if we get anyone under the age 23 they end up with under 10 mins of ice time or in Milwaukee anyways so it dont matter

Was just about to say this. One key aspect if you're trying to find a struggling young guy is that you've got to be able to develop him better than the team who had him before did. I'm not at all confident we can do that. That's why despite him being maybe a couple years older than we'd like someone like Necas seems like a good fit to me. He's proven he can produce well in a second line role and if we give him more opportunity maybe he turns into a point per game type of player. Try him with some of the young guys or put him on the wing with Forsberg-O'Reilly and then can move Nyquist down to the second line.

 

[herzausstein]

Was just about to say this. One key aspect if you're trying to find a struggling young guy is that you've got to be able to develop him better than the team who had him before did. I'm not at all confident we can do that. That's why despite him being maybe a couple years older than we'd like someone like Necas seems like a good fit to me. He's proven he can produce well in a second line role and if we give him more opportunity maybe he turns into a point per game type of player. Try him with some of the young guys or put him on the wing with Forsberg-O'Reilly and then can move Nyquist down to the second line.

The problem with Necas is that... our centers still suck. Next season ROR is older and our other centers continue to suck. If we could get a Mittelstadt type center in a separate trade then necas could make sense but we have to fix our center situation. We cant expect to do anything icing Jankowski and McCarron as nhl level centers. 1 maybe... both? No.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

The problem with Necas is that... our centers still suck. Next season ROR is older and our other centers continue to suck. If we could get a Mittelstadt type center in a separate trade then necas could make sense but we have to fix our center situation. We cant expect to do anything icing Jankowski and McCarron as nhl level centers. 1 maybe... both? No.

I'm still not convinced that our centers actually suck as much as we're trying to make it appear. Because even though he's not "perfect" as a center, I do recall Novak producing and looking pretty good playing center before he got hurt. Is he good defensively or on faceoffs? No. I also still love Parssinen as a center. Is he fast? No.

I think it call comes back again to the coaching staff having some weird constraints on what shortcomings they're willing to accept from younger players. Centers or wingers, or how "complete" we need them to be right out of the gate. Not all players check every box. It goes back again to how we were told this was supposed to be a "learning" season, or how we'd live with mistakes and push some of our younger forwards into roles with greater responsibility, and yet the exact opposite has happened. And it's happening at the center position too.

Glass is the only young center who has outright disappointed me. I can live with Novak's warts, and I'd love to see Parssinen have an extended run back at center too.

 

[herzausstein]

I'm still not convinced that our centers actually suck as much as we're trying to make it appear. Because even though he's not "perfect" as a center, I do recall Novak producing and looking pretty good playing center before he got hurt. Is he good defensively or on faceoffs? No. I also still love Parssinen as a center. Is he fast? No.

I think it call comes back again to the coaching staff having some weird constraints on what shortcomings they're willing to accept from younger players. Centers or wingers, or how "complete" we need them to be right out of the gate. Not all players check every box. It goes back again to how we were told this was supposed to be a "learning" season, or how we'd live with mistakes and push some of our younger forwards into roles with greater responsibility, and yet the exact opposite has happened. And it's happening at the center position too.

Glass is the only young center who has outright disappointed me. I can live with Novak's warts, and I'd love to see Parssinen have an extended run back at center too.

Im kindof on the other side of the fence. I think if we got a Mittelstadt center it would make novak and tomasino/Evangelista more potent at wing. I think the lack of 2c has really drug down the young wings.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Im kindof on the other side of the fence. I think if we got a Mittelstadt center it would make novak and tomasino/Evangelista more potent at wing. I think the lack of 2c has really drug down the young wings.

I guess I just think if you really poured ACTUAL confidence and opportunity into Novak/Parssinen, you'd already have that. Mittelstadt is nothing very special? But anyway, Buffalo is letting him play his game now. And he's producing. So even though he was on the block in previous years, I don't see him moving now. I think we have our own Mittelstadts on hand. Just you have to play them.

 

[LeighDx59]

Dark horse team, but given Hart is out due to the scandal and the way theyre playing this season. Does Philadelphia take a crack at getting Saros? I remember Frost being in the doghouse with Torts earlier in the season, I dont know how it is now but take could a solid start?

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Dark horse team, but given Hart is out due to the scandal and the way theyre playing this season. Does Philadelphia take a crack at getting Saros? I remember Frost being in the doghouse with Torts earlier in the season, I dont know how it is now but take could a solid start?

Ersson seems capable. For a team that doesn’t have the pressure of expectations? Meanwhile, isn’t Frost just similar to our own young forwards who haven’t quite established themselves yet… but isn’t expected to be a star even if he does?

I think people need to set their sights a lot higher… or alternatively accept the value in keeping Saros. There’s a reason that there hasn’t been much precedent for receiving high value in a goalie trade, and I suspect we’re just going to be keeping Saros as a result.

 

[Armourboy]

Ersson seems capable. For a team that doesn’t have the pressure of expectations? Meanwhile, isn’t Frost just similar to our own young forwards who haven’t quite established themselves yet… but isn’t expected to be a star even if he does?

I think people need to set their sights a lot higher… or alternatively accept the value in keeping Saros. There’s a reason that there hasn’t been much precedent for receiving high value in a goalie trade, and I suspect we’re just going to be keeping Saros as a result.

Nah I think Trotz panics and ends up dealing him for a 1st and some crap two way forward.

 

[Scoresberg]

Over at main boards, they are speculating that the Devils and the Flames have an agreement in place regarding Markstrom. So that probably wipes away one very potential buyer in the Saros sweepstakes.

And considering Carolina and Edmonton may not need goaltending after all, that essentially leaves two teams. The Kings and the Leafs.

I echo with @Armourboy and think that Trotz will eventually budge and will deal Saros for futures. I'm thinking it'll be something along the lines of:

1st + Spence + Kaliyev

from the Kings. Which I can't say I love, but I'm also having a tough time seeing the path forward with 9 million Saros between the pipes.

 

[Armourboy]

Over at main boards, they are speculating that the Devils and the Flames have an agreement in place regarding Markstrom. So that probably wipes away one very potential buyer in the Saros sweepstakes.

And considering Carolina and Edmonton may not need goaltending after all, that essentially leaves two teams. The Kings and the Leafs.

I echo with @Armourboy and think that Trotz will eventually budge and will deal Saros for futures. I'm thinking it'll be something along the lines of:

1st + Spence + Kaliyev

from the Kings. Which I can't say I love, but I'm also having a tough time seeing the path forward with 9 million Saros between the pipes.

I'll be real surprised if he asks for that tbh.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

I'll be real surprised if he asks for that tbh.

Yeah, I think if Saros was winning the Vezina he might have asked for more. But Hellebuyck in Vezina mode in the most forlorn outpost in the NHL only got $8.5M. Saros probably comes in around 7x$7M now, at best. Hard to say if he should take that or bet on himself bouncing back next season. Looking at the team around him, I would probably counsel against betting on his numbers improving anytime soon here.

 

[herzausstein]

Over at main boards, they are speculating that the Devils and the Flames have an agreement in place regarding Markstrom. So that probably wipes away one very potential buyer in the Saros sweepstakes.

And considering Carolina and Edmonton may not need goaltending after all, that essentially leaves two teams. The Kings and the Leafs.

I echo with @Armourboy and think that Trotz will eventually budge and will deal Saros for futures. I'm thinking it'll be something along the lines of:

1st + Spence + Kaliyev

from the Kings. Which I can't say I love, but I'm also having a tough time seeing the path forward with 9 million Saros between the pipes.

Cant wait to see kalieyev get the bruno treatment. He already gets that in LA. Spence and a 1st is nice though.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

1st + Spence + Kaliyev

Spence is a small D who sort of aspires to be a Tyson Barrie style player? He's good enough to have an NHL career. But just in a middling role. Kaliyev seems to be a bit stalled atm trying to figure out how to play a complete enough game to stick, which I'm definitely leery about our organization being able to fix. So even though both those players have had some modest amounts of prospect hype in the past, the modern reality is that they're just going to be more of what we already have in great abundance.

The 1st would be of some value if the Kings can miss the playoffs and it lands in the 12-16 range. But that's still nothing special.

Talbot and Rittich seem to be posting great numbers, the Kings don't seem to be suffering in goal, they still have one of the best defensive records in the conference. So even though I don't like that return for the Preds, I also don't see any real incentive for the Kings to pay even that much. They're not a contender, they're not likely to improve their goaltending much by replacing one of their incumbents with Saros. Not for this season anyway.

New Jersey is definitely the better team to pursue, because they have the greater need and expectation level. If Markstrom does end up getting traded to them, it will be interesting to see the return, because that should be a pretty close comparable to what Saros could have got.

 

[Predsanddead24]

Spence is a small D who sort of aspires to be a Tyson Barrie style player? He's good enough to have an NHL career. But just in a middling role. Kaliyev seems to be a bit stalled atm trying to figure out how to play a complete enough game to stick, which I'm definitely leery about our organization being able to fix. So even though both those players have had some modest amounts of prospect hype in the past, the modern reality is that they're just going to be more of what we already have in great abundance.

The 1st would be of some value if the Kings can miss the playoffs and it lands in the 12-16 range. But that's still nothing special.

Talbot and Rittich seem to be posting great numbers, the Kings don't seem to be suffering in goal, they still have one of the best defensive records in the conference. So even though I don't like that return for the Preds, I also don't see any real incentive for the Kings to pay even that much. They're not a contender, they're not likely to improve their goaltending much by replacing one of their incumbents with Saros. Not for this season anyway.

New Jersey is definitely the better team to pursue, because they have the greater need and expectation level. If Markstrom does end up getting traded to them, it will be interesting to see the return, because that should be a pretty close comparable to what Saros could have got.

Talbot was good to start the year but has been hot garbage lately (lost 10 straight and 13 out of 15 with an .884 sv%). Rittich has been shockingly good but I don’t think you want to rely on him keeping it up either. Even if they like their goaltending situation now it is really unclear moving forward and Saros provides a long term solution.

 

[Roman Yoshi]

Over at main boards, they are speculating that the Devils and the Flames have an agreement in place regarding Markstrom. So that probably wipes away one very potential buyer in the Saros sweepstakes.

And considering Carolina and Edmonton may not need goaltending after all, that essentially leaves two teams. The Kings and the Leafs.

I echo with @Armourboy and think that Trotz will eventually budge and will deal Saros for futures. I'm thinking it'll be something along the lines of:

1st + Spence + Kaliyev

from the Kings. Which I can't say I love, but I'm also having a tough time seeing the path forward with 9 million Saros between the pipes.

There is no way the Kings make that deal. Not a chance. You're probably looking at a 1st + Kaliyev at most.

 

[herzausstein]

There is no way the Kings make that deal. Not a chance. You're probably looking at a 1st + Kaliyev at most.

Kaliyev is no better than what we got and what we got is getting pressboxed and sent to the minors by the coach we got. So it boils down to a 1st.

 

[PredsV82]

Yeah, I think if Saros was winning the Vezina he might have asked for more. But Hellebuyck in Vezina mode in the most forlorn outpost in the NHL only got $8.5M. Saros probably comes in around 7x$7M now, at best. Hard to say if he should take that or bet on himself bouncing back next season. Looking at the team around him, I would probably counsel against betting on his numbers improving anytime soon here.

And the Preds really shouldn't go 7 years on him anyway. That would be 8 years from now. Even if we kept Saros, Askarov should be the starter in no more than 3 years, 4 tops.