Juuse Saros could be a long-term fixture for someone if he leaves Nashville
Juuse Saros is the ultimate wild card here, as he can go to a team with ample cap space, and they can, in turn, sign him to a long-term deal. However, since his contract won’t expire until next offseason, the Nashville Predators don’t need to deal him to another team just yet, and there is always a (slim) chance they can work out a deal with Saros between now and the 2025 trade deadline.
Nashville is also a serious wild card contender, so chances are, they will hang onto Saros and worry about trading the 29-year-old later if they can’t find a way to keep him in Tennessee. However, if the latter occurs, expect the higher likelihood of the Predators dealing him as early as this summer, assuming they don’t get such a good offer in the coming days to send him elsewhere by March 8th.
While we shouldn’t expect a trade, barring a can’t-miss deal that would lead to a subsequent extension with a team that can afford to pay Saros what he wants, he’s nonetheless worth mentioning. Every other player on this list has a better chance of going elsewhere, but Saros is still a name you will want to keep tabs on over the next week.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference as of February 28th)