As per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff: “Sources: At least one team, believed to be Devils, has shown real interest in Juuse Saros last few weeks.” He adds that the Nashville Predators But say they’re intent on keeping Saros so long as they’re in the playoffs.” If a trade happens, it will be just before the deadline, and only if the Preds start to struggle.
Seravalli then asks what that means for the goalie market and dives into it in a recent article. In his post, he notes:
“…the Devils have made calls on just about every goaltender – from the available (Jacob Markstrom, Jake Allen, John Gibson , Juuse Saros, Elvis Merzlikins) to even the unavailable (Tristan Jarry, Linus Ullmark) in an attempt to gauge the market. Will Fitzgerald pull the trigger?”
He explains that Markstrom will come at a premium cost for teams, as will Charlie Lindgren. Markstrom is the bigger name, but Lindgren is playing well and earns just $1.1 million next season against the cap.
Jake Allen is an intriguing name because of the situation in Montreal. The Canadiens want to move one of their three goalies, but Allen, 33, is also under contract next season. The Habs have one salary retention spot remaining this year and while they are willing to retain half to knock him down to $1.9 million, they don’t want to dump him for a song and retain money.
Trade Deadline Goalie Market Outside of Saros Isn’t Sexy
Beyond the names mentioned above, the goalie market is rather void of big names that can be difference-makers. Marc-Andre Fleury would be in that mix, but recent comments suggest a trade out of Minnesota is unlikely. If it does happen, it will be a last-minute pivot.
Saros is the prize of the bunch. It’s no wonder the Devils are making a strong push to trade for him. If he is ultimately dealt, New Jersey won’t be the only team making a solid trade deadline offer.
More must-reads: