Nashville, Tennessee (July 1, 2024) – Nashville Predators general manager Barry Trotz announced today that the team has reached an agreement with goaltender Juuse Saros on an eight-year, $61.92 million ($7.74 million AAV) contract that will begin in the 2025-26 season.
“We are pleased to announce today that Juuse Saros will continue his career with the Nashville Predators,” Trotz said. “This is a young man who has proven himself to be one of the best goaltenders in the NHL. More importantly, he and his wife, Minna, have been an incredibly positive presence in our community, and we are happy that they have made a commitment to Nashville and Middle Tennessee for the next several years. We have long envisioned Juuse spending his NHL career with the Predators, and this is the next step in that process. His competitiveness and work ethic will help him continue to build on the success he has already enjoyed as our starting goaltender.”
Saros, 29 (4/19/95), has established himself as one of the NHL’s top goaltenders since assuming a full-time starting role for the Predators four seasons ago. He was a Vezina Trophy finalist in 2021-22 (third) and also placed fourth (2022-23) and sixth (2020-21) in the previous four seasons and earned an 11th-place finish in Hart Trophy voting in 2020-21. Over the past three campaigns, no NHL goaltender has started more games (195), spent more time on ice (11,366:19) or made more saves (5,534) than the 6-foot-1, 180-pound native of Forssa, Finland; He also ranks second in wins (106) and is tied for 10th in shutouts (9) since the 2021-22 season.
In 2023–24, Saros helped the Predators qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the ninth time in the past 10 seasons after going 35-24-5 with a 2.86 goals-against average, .906 save percentage and three shutouts. It was his third consecutive season with at least 30 wins, tied for the second-longest streak in Predators history behind only Pekka Rinne (5). Saros led NHL goaltenders in games played (64), starts (64), shots against (1,845) and saves (1,672) and set two separate career streaks: a 14-game point streak (12-0-2), the longest in Predators history, from Feb. 17 to March 26; and a six-game winning streak, which he accomplished twice, most recently from Feb. 17 to March 2. He started all six games of Nashville’s first-round series against Vancouver, stopping 108 of 120 shots and posting a 2.02 goals-against average.
Originally selected by the Predators in the fourth round (99th overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft, Saros already ranks among the franchise’s and Finland’s top goaltenders in history. He is tied with Rinne for the best save percentage in Predators history (.917) and is second in wins (182) and shutouts (23). Among Finnish-born goaltenders in NHL history, Saros is seventh in wins, shutouts and starts (333), and his 23 career postseason appearances are sixth-most among his country. Since making his NHL debut in 2015-16, Saros owns a 182-119-32 record; has been selected to two NHL All-Star Games (2022 and 2023); He earned a spot on the NHL All-Rookie Team in 2017-18; and was third in the NHL in wins in 2021-22 (38). He also posted a 2.45 goals-against average and .911 save percentage in 23 career playoff games, 16 of which were started.
Internationally, Saros has represented his native Finland at five major tournaments, winning gold at the 2014 World Junior Championships; silver at the 2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and the 2014 and 2016 World Championships; and bronze at the 2013 World Under-18 Championships. On Friday, he was named one of the first six players on Finland’s roster for the upcoming Four Nations Face-Off Tournament, which will be held in February 2025 in Boston and Montreal.
Prior to becoming a full-time NHL goaltender, Saros went 45-15-1 in 62 games for the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals and earned a spot on the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic roster.