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Apr 14, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros (74) blocks the shot of Utah Hockey Club center Barrett Hayton (27) during the second period at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Predators Goalie Primed for Bounce Back Campaign

Originally posted on Breakaway on SI | By Jacob Punturi | Last updated Aug 16, 2025 2:10 PM ET

The Nashville Predators were a massive disappointment last season. After being the biggest spenders during the 2024 summer, the free agent additions proved unhelpful compared to their issues. The Predators were one of the worst defensive teams in the entire NFL last season, and no amount of offense could overcome that.

The problem is that scrutiny regarding the Predators' failures last season has fallen disproportionately on starting goalie Juuse Saros. The 30-year-old netminder is the anchor of the Nashville organization and last year was a noticeable statistical regression for the Finnish-born goalie. He went 20-31-6 with a career-worst 2.98 goals-against average and 0.896 save percentage. Based strictly off the win/loss record, it appears that Saros is trending in the wrong direction. H owever, the superstar goalie is primed for a bounce back campaign, and multiple data points from last season support this claim.

What cannot be overstated is how porous and ineffective the Nashville defense was last year. According to NHL EDGE data from last season, only four goalies faced more high-danger shots on goal than Saros’ 428 faced. Saros has nothing to do with how often the opposing team is able to get into the best scoring chances, but he responded admirably with how frequently he was tested. He stopped 346 of those 428 high-danger shots on goal, the sixth-most in the league.

What was even more impressive was how often Saros gave his team a chance to win. There is no one data points that defines a quality start for NHL goalies, but one ask many teams have for their goalie is to stop 90% of the shots against him. Despite winning 20 games, Saros posted 27 games with a save percentage above 0.900.

What happened more often than not was that the Preds couldn’t muster enough offense regardless of how strong a game Saros had. The Predators scored 137 goals with Saros in net, but allowed 167. That -30 differential is an unwinnable scenario for a goaltender, but he was sent out there nearly 60 times last season knowing he’d get bad defense and no offense in front of him.

Why these negative data points are encouraging for Saros is because so much of it is outside of his play. Pouring through his appearances last season, it’s clear how often he wasn’t the problem. Over 58 games played, he gave his team a winning shot half of those games despite being on one of the worst teams in the NHL.

Another reason for optimism is that the Predators have tried to do something to address their defensive inefficiencies. The team's big offseason move was to trade for and extend hulking defender Nicolas Hague. The stay-at-home defender is integral to protecting the crease and helping to bolster their blue line.

The Predators are not Stanley Cup contenders heading into the 2025-2026 season. Playing in the Central Division, the arguable toughest in hockey, they still lack the firepower and depth to contend against the Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars of the world. What they can count on, however, is that they have one of the best goalies in the wold still. A goalie who is determined to bounce back with a vengeance this upcoming campaign.

This article first appeared on Breakaway on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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