The Juuse is contained: Nashville Predators re-sign goaltender Saros

The Nashville Predators have secured Juuse Saros for the next three years at an amazingly low cap hit.

The Nashville Predators have signed backup goaltender Juuse Saros to a three-year deal that will pay him $1.5 million per season. Overall, he will make $4.5 million for the three seasons that he’s signed in Nashville. He will continue to back up starting goaltender Pekka Rinne, who’s going into the final year of his deal this coming season.

Saros has been a steady backup for the Predators during the time he’s been with the club. This past season, he was named to the NHL’s All-Rookie Team after he went 11-5-7. He also had a .925 save percentage, which is better than what some starters have during the season. In 2016-2017, he went 19-10-8 with a .923 save percentage and one shutout. This season, he had three shutouts, the most of his career.

Saros led all NHL goaltenders in save percentage (.935) from November 4 until the end of the season, and he also had the third-best save percentage in Predators history this season. To do that as a backup is nothing short of spectacular, and there’s a great chance he will be this good again this upcoming season.

With this signing, it’s going to be fascinating to see what happens with Pekka Rinne after this season. He’s making $7 million per season going into this season and when the deal expires, he will be 36. He’s had a career .919 save percentage, even after coming off one of the best seasons of his career.

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Will the Predators want to sign him to a short-term deal and groom Saros more, or will they just let Rinne walk and hand the keys to Saros after this season? We’ll get that answer next summer, as this season could very well be a tryout for Saros starting full-time in the future.