3. Goalie Juuse Saros blocked the most shots on goal (1,845) in the NHL last season, including the fifth-most from dangerous areas (443) and the most from mid-range (550). He tied with Alex Nedeljkovic of the Penguins for second in mid-range save percentage (0.915), behind Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins (0.919).
The Predators signed Saros to an eight-year contract that begins next season, despite having elite goalie Yaroslav Askarov in their system. Saros has been one of the NHL’s best working goalies for years and, with the exception of last season (.906 in 64 games), has usually been among the league’s leading goalies in save percentage. He is tied with Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Lightning (.917) among the 21 goalies who have played 300 games since 2015-16.
With the additions to Nashville’s roster, especially with Skjei on defense, Saros has new opportunities and a chance to win the Vezina Trophy for the first time. It’s worth noting that his former teammate and Predators’ European scout and goaltending coach, Pekka Rinne, won that trophy when he was voted the best player at the position by the NHL general managers in 2018.
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More: NHL EDGE Stats Guide
