Barry Trotz has the biggest chip at the trade deadline if the Nashville Predators are in a position. That chip is Juuse Saros.
With the NHL season underway, it is no shock the same teams keep rising to the top, only to fall short year after year.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Edmonton Oilers, or two of these teams that excel during the regular season. These teams have dominant offensive outputs only to be left holding their heads come the playoffs. The same common denominator affects both these teams the lack of a true number one stuff NHL goalie.
The 2023-24 Nashville Predators may finally be the answer for these teams and here is why say Barry Trotz holds all the JUUSE at the deadline.
Trotz is in possession of two NHL goalies. In addition, he holds the former number 11 overall (2019 first-round draft pick) Russian goalie Yaroslav Askarov. There are some people who believe he could be the next Igor Shesterkin. Having smashed all of Igor’s records in Russia and coming off a solid season in the AHL last season, it is only a matter of time before he kicks the NHL door down.
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One of the pros of trading Juuse Saros is that he is 28 years old. Again as previously mentioned, Saros is under a very manageable contract for the next two seasons. His $5 million cap hit that today is a budget bargain in the NHL. Never mind mentioning he’s a top-three goalie in the entire league.
Trotz, who is clearly in the middle of a rebuild, holds all the chips at the upcoming trade deadline. As stated before teams like Toronto and Edmonton need something to put them over the top. Some say the New Jersey Devils are one of those teams as well. All three teams could use a goalie like Juuse Saros to propel them to the Stanley Cup Final.
But sticking with the Oilers and Maple Leafs for a second. If I were Barry Trotz, I start the Edmonton offer with two number ones and Xavier Bourgault, the Preds top prospect. This might seem like an awful lot to some people, but Edmonton is a goalie away, and their window is closing each year that Connor McDavid and crew get older.
If the Predators were going to make a deal with the Maple Leafs, they may look at someone like Matthew Knies. Knies showed what he could do at the college level, and though he is off to a slow start this season with Toronto, he has the ability to be an NHL player.
In addition, the Maple Leafs would probably send a number-one pick and maybe a second-rounder to go along with Knies. Again we figure Toronto may be in the goalie market. That all depends on Joseph Woll and Ilya Samsonov.
Either way, this not only helps Toronto’s roster, but the Predators rebuild as well. Nashville’s organization is full of draft picks and prospects. This two-year plan would suddenly be put into full force. A lot of dynasties, it is not just in the NHL, that do not know when to get rid of players. However, if you look at the NHL’s modern-day dynasty Tampa Bay Lightning, their team fell apart because of the salary cap.
If you look to other sports, the New York Yankees for example, they waited too long to dismantle that team. The New York Islanders of the 1980s held on longer than most thought. Though they did have chances to reclaim their thrown, the 1990s were tough. Just imagine if management did not trade away some future Hall of Famers. Other examples include the dynasty Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers teams. It is time for Juuse Saros to be an Oiler or Leaf at the trade deadline.
Another interesting point to this equation is that Juuse having two years left on his deal, this would bring him to age 30. And top-five goalies at that age are hard to come by in free agency. With the Predators having a two-year plan, they hope these additional draft choices and prospects will help grow the team. You never know say they trade Saros away, who says they can’t re-sign when he hits free agency and make another run at the Stanley Cup?
Let me know what you think.