Among the concerns general manager Barry Trotz needs to address with the Nashville Predators this summer, none is more crucial — and unfortunately, impossible to resolve — than goaltender Juuse Saros.
Following a season in which he led the league in losses (31) and posted a career low in save percentage (.895), the Predators are about to give their top goaltender a pay raise. On July 1, an eight-year, $61 million contract kicks in, locking up the 30-year-old goaltender through 2033.
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The contract was signed last summer when Trotz faced a fork in the road: Sign Saros to a long-term deal, or develop 2020 first-round pick Yaroslav Askarov into a starting goaltender. Trotz chose the former, eventually trading Askarov to the San Jose Sharks for draft picks and a top prospect.
A year later, the Predators may be regretting that choice.
In the past two seasons, Saros has a 55-55-11 record and a .901 save percentage, which ranks 42nd among goalies with at least 1,000 minutes played, according to Natural Stat Trick. He became the Predators’ starter following the retirement of Pekka Rinne in 2021 and initially seemed capable of carrying the torch. But now Saros’ career seems to be trending down.
Yet Trotz insists he is not concerned.
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“The way you play in front of your goaltender is paramount,” he said.
Why Barry Trotz says he isn’t concerned about Juuse Saros
“Any team can take a goaltender, take the Vezina Trophy winner, and put them on our group . . . I think they would have declining numbers,” Trotz said.
Ask Trotz or coach Andrew Brunette about the play of their goaltender and you’ll hear that the defense played poorly and the team should protect the goalie better. This phenomenon in hockey is not exclusive to Nashville — goaltenders are often protected from criticism in the NHL.
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There’s a nugget of truth in what Trotz claims happened this season. The Predators’ blue line dealt with major injuries to Jeremy Lauzon and Roman Josi, then traded Alex Carrier and Luke Schenn midseason amid the team’s sell-off. By the end of the season, waiver claims Jordan Oesterle and Andreas Englund were playing substantial minutes, along with unproven defensemen like Marc Del Gaizo.
But a closer look suggests the defense in front of Saros wasn’t the culprit.
At even strength, the Predators ranked 18th in expected goals allowed (190.5), a metric that isolates defensive play in front of the goaltender. But they ranked 28th in actual goals allowed (224). This suggests the goaltenders — mostly Saros, who played in 58 of 82 games — didn’t perform as well as the defense.
Dismissing Saros’ role in the Predators’ 27th-ranked defense — particularly when he had the worst season of his nine-year career — conceals the real issue. It’s burying your head in the sand and then blaming the sand.
Juuse Saros’ unfortunate decline begins for Predators
Goaltenders age a little better than skaters do in the NHL — most don’t hit their stride until their late 20s or early 30s, and it’s not uncommon for goalies in their 30s to dominate. The 2025 Vezina Trophy finalists, Connor Hellebuyck, Darcy Kuemper and Andrei Vasilevskiy, are all over 30.
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But Saros, who turned 30 in April, is heading in the wrong direction. In 2022-23, when he placed fourth in Vezina Trophy voting, finished with a .919 save percentage. That dropped to .906 in 2023-24 and then .895 in 2024-25. His goals allowed average shows the same trend, increasing from 2.69 to 2.86 to 2.98.
The reasons for Saros’ decline aren’t clear. It could be workload — he has played 253 games since 2021, tied for most in the NHL with Hellebuyck. It could be lingering effects from injuries — in 2022, he suffered a high ankle sprain that kept him out of the playoffs.
The Predators do not seem worried about any fatigue or injury with Saros.
“(Saros) has ability and still moves very, very well,” Trotz said. “I think there’s a lot of tread on the tires.”
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Whatever the issue with Saros, the Predators seem convinced the problem lies elsewhere. Trotz said he will pursue at least one defenseman in free agency and could make a “hockey trade” to tweak his forward lineup.
But the rapidly declining goaltender? Not going anywhere.
“I have a lot of trust in (Saros),” Trotz said.
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Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Predators’ Barry Trotz not concerned about Juuse Saros, but should be