Juuse Saros has been very good for the Nashville Predators in net since even before taking over as the starter. He now has four solid seasons as a starter in Nashville under his belt and the Finnish netminder has finished 6th or better in Vezina Trophy voting in each of them.
It’s only a matter of time before he takes home the award for the best goaltender of the year, but that isn’t what Saros thought of as his goal for the season. When asked what his goal is, he jokingly answered, “Maybe it’d be nice to score a goal.”
It’s all smiles for Saros who is backstopping a much-improved Predators team that has a real chance of competing for the Stanley Cup this season and beyond. The additions and moves made only made the Predators better in every way.
While it was considered a down season for Saros in 2023-24 because his closing GAA was 2.86 and SV% was .906, he did finish with 35 wins, three shutouts, and fifth in Vezina Trophy voting.
Saros got to witness the last goalie goal scored by the Predators. It came on January 9, 2020 by Pekka Rinne while Saros backed him up. This was the 15th goalie goal in NHL history and the 13th in the regular season. It was also the first in Nashville franchise history.
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Saros’ following start to that goalie goal by Rinne was a shutout and he proceeded to go on a 9-3-0 run. This was the final year before Saros took control of the net in Nashville and has run with it since.
There have only been two goalie goals since Rinne scored against the Chicago Blackhawks in 2020. Those both came in the same year, 2023. Linus Ullmark scored against the Vancouver Canucks on February 25, 2023 and Tristan Jarry scored the next season on November 30, 2023 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Does this joking response mean that we may see Saros attempt the goalie goal this season? Possibly, but he won’t have many opportunities and we will have to wait and find out if he even gets a good shot at it.
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