In keeping with Elliotte Friedman, the Nashville Predators will lengthen goaltender Juuse Saros to an eight-year contract on Monday (July 1). It was reported by Chris Johnston that the deal will carry an annual common of roughly $7.74 million. The contract will start within the 2025-26 season. Saros went 35-24-5 with a 2.86 goals-against common and .906 save share this season.
With the goaltending market seeing Jacob Markstrom, Linus Ullmark, and Darcy Kuemper discover new squads this offseason, it was broadly speculated Saros may very well be the subsequent identify to get shipped. At simply 29 years outdated, he would have been a main commerce candidate for groups just like the Detroit Purple Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Carolina Hurricanes. Now, he can lock himself in Nashville for what may very well be the rest of his profession.
An extension reveals Predators’ normal supervisor Barry Trotz believes within the present core. Saros led the crew to fourth place within the Central Division earlier than in the end falling to the Vancouver Canucks in six video games in Spherical 1 of the 2024 Playoffs. With a younger core of NHL expertise and high-end prospects, Saros has turn into the cornerstone of a future Stanley Cup contender.
Associated: 2024 NHL Free Company Tracker
The Predators have high prospect Yaroslavv Askarov (22) ready within the wings, and this extension places his future with the crew in query. With Kevin Lankinen set to hit the free agent market this Monday (July 1), Askarov would seem more likely to assume the backup position in Nashville for the foreseeable future. Nonetheless, Frank Seravalli believes the plan is to begin Askarov within the AHL to start subsequent season, and if that’s the case, Askarov could also be a reputation to control within the headlines.