Juuse Saros Signs 4-Yr Extension With Predators

The Nashville Predators were able to avoid arbitration with goaltender Juuse Saros, with the two parties agreeing to a four-year, $20 million deal.

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As of now, this deal appears to be fair value for both sides, but has a chance to turn into a bargain contract for the Predators. Saros had without a doubt the best season of his career in 2020-21, almost singlehandedly carrying his team to the postseason with a sparkling 2.28 goals against average (GAA) along with a .927 save percentage (SV%) and a 21-11-1 record.

Nashville and Juuse Saros have a four-year, $20M extension to avoid arbitration

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) August 16, 2021

For Saros, his potential has always been well known but he had failed to every truly live up to it in previous seasons. At times, he was able to play like a top tier goaltender but always seemed to struggle with consistency, something he was able to wipe out of his game completely this past season. It likely also helped that he was the teams undeniable top goaltender and was used as such, compared to past years where he both split the net and was also the backup to Pekka Rinne.

With Rinne having officially announced his retirement earlier this offseason, Saros is now the undisputed number one goaltender in Nashville. This will certainly come with some pressure given how good Rinne was for a long time there, but if last season is any indication the 26-year-old is certainly up to the challenge.

With his cap hit of $5 million, he will be making the same as goalies like Thatcher Demko, Robin Lehner and Linus Ullmark, all of whom he was undeniably better than last season. If he is able to play as well as he did last season, this signing will turn out to be one of the better goalie contracts in the entire league.

Saros, who was taken in the fourth-round (99 overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft by the Predators, has played in 161 career NHL games. He has posted a combined 2.51 GAA along with a .920 SV% and a 78-49-19 record to this point. Predators fans should be feeling quite excited with this deal.

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