When Nashville Predators general manager Barry Trotz began taking trade calls about star goaltender Juuse Saros, his team was a good six points back in the wild-card race and looking at the prospect of being a seller at the trade deadline.
Then, the Predators went on an unexpected run, and suddenly it made more sense for Trotz to keep most of the very players he was shopping just a few weeks ago, including goaltender Juuse Saros.
Multiple reports indicated the New Jersey Devils made the strongest push to try and pry Saros from the Predators, but Trotz never got the moon-and-star offer he was looking for to part with his Vezina-caliber goalie.
But according to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, just because the Devils didn’t get Saros before the March 8 trade deadline, it doesn’t mean they won’t try again during the offseason.
“The Devils still aim to go out and trade for a bona fide No. 1 if possible this summer, and that includes re-engaging with the Calgary Flames on Jacob Markstrom but also investigating the situation with Nashville Predators goalie Juuse Saros,” LeBrun wrote.
“…I think the Preds are fine having a Saros-Askarov partnership potentially next season. But I also don’t think letting Saros walk out the door July 1, 2025, for nothing asset-wise makes a whole lot of sense for them. … Do you put Saros on the market at the draft in Vegas? I think both scenarios are possible at the moment.”
Trotz doesn’t appear to have taken anything off the table. Days before the trade deadline he told 102.5 The Game there were two windows — one between the trade deadline and draft and another right after the draft — that he viewed as opportunities to get something done with Saros, be it an extension or a trade.
His stance didn’t seem to change after the deadline when he reiterated if a team wanted to trade for Saros, it was going to take one doozy of a trade package to make it happen.
“Juuse Saros has played extremely well in this league and is a superstar in this league,” Trotz said. “I wasn’t going to accept inadequate stuff from other teams, unproven stuff from other teams.”
If New Jersey is serious about pursuing Saros, GM Tom Fitzgerald will have to come to terms with parting with the kind of high-end players (presumably Dawson Mercer), prospects (like Seamus Casey) and draft picks (likely a first-rounder) that it’ll take to acquire him — something he was clearly bothered by judging from his remarks during his post-deadline presser.
“All I’m trying to do is be fair in market, but you also need a team that wants to make fair deals too versus just extorting you for every big asset you have,” he said on March 8.
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