3 reasons why the Devils should make a strong push for Juuse Saros at the trade deadline
Goaltending has been a major issue for the New Jersey Devils this season, and acquiring someone like Juuse Saros at the 2024 trade deadline could work wonders.
The New Jersey Devils have 62 points, and as of Monday afternoon, they are seven points outside of the second wild card spot.
For a season that began with so much hope and high expectations from everyone in the NHL universe, the Devils may be the biggest disappointment leading up to the 2024 trade deadline. But it’s also not like this team has taken a collective step back, even if injuries have been issues since the puck first dropped in October.
New Jersey is still one of the best scoring teams in the NHL with 191 goals, which ranks 10th in the league. They also boast an above-average power play unit, and even their penalty kill isn’t terrible, along with some solid numbers at 5-on-5.
For one of the league’s youngest teams, New Jersey is still playing well despite the overall disappointing performance to date. That said, it’s not like they are out of the playoff race, and a simple trade for a goaltender could even help this team embark on the run we were all expecting following the March 8th deadline.
The Devils aren’t out of the race if they acquire a goaltender at the deadline
New Jersey needs a goaltender, and fortunately for them, there are several potential fits listed to potentially be on the move as the trade deadline nears. Names like Jacob Markstrom, Kaapo Kahkonen, Jake Allen, and Elvis Merzlikins are just a few netminders for whom the Devils could make a run.
However, Juuse Saros could be the most prominent name of the bunch if the Nashville Predators decide to trade him. Saros is coming off of a great three-game outing between February 17th and February 24th, but his overall performance has been lower this season with a 0.904 save percentage, a 2.95 GAA, and a modest 0.522 quality starts percentage.
Despite these lower numbers and a potentially high price tag, it doesn’t mean the Devils should shy away from trying to trade for him, and here are three reasons why.
New Jersey’s goaltending has been a nightmare this season
While Saros’ play has been nowhere near his standard in 2023-24, it’s also nothing compared to what the Devils have gone through over the past four-and-a-half months. We can start with Vitek Vanecek, who delivered fans fools gold last season when he recorded a 0.911 save percentage, a 2.45 GAA, and three shutouts. As for taking the next step in 2023-24, it didn’t happen, and Vanecek currently has an 0.890 save percentage, a 3.18 GAA, and zero shutouts.
New Jersey has a pair of youngsters in the lineup at the moment, with Vanecek on injured reserve. Nico Daws has 15 starts, but his 0.895 save percentage and 3.30 GAA have been uninspiring to date, while Akira Schmid isn’t faring much better at 0.892 and 3.24.
Sure, the Devils goaltenders are collectively facing nearly 30 shots on goal per game, so they aren’t getting a ton of help from their skaters. But a player like Saros has shown us he can handle an onslaught of shots and still come up strong, even if this season doesn’t show it. Just last year, he faced 32.75 shots on goal per contest, and his efforts landed him in fourth place for the Vezina.
Saros could complete the Devils in 2023-24 in the short-term
Despite New Jersey’s inconsistencies, Saros could give the Devils a complete team for the rest of the 2023-24 season since he’s one of the more durable goaltenders in hockey. This season, he already has 46 starts, and he is well on pace to record 60-plus, regardless of whether he’s still in Nashville or if he lands somewhere like Newark.
Over the past three seasons, Saros has made 177 appearances and 176 starts, and he’s also posted among the better numbers at the position than most in the NHL, with a 0.915 save percentage, a 2.74 GAA, and eight shutouts. Although we aren’t seeing the same production out of Saros this year, the aforementioned statistics also indicate he can play sound hockey over a prolonged period.
This isn’t the same thing we have seen from Vanecek, who put up solid numbers before he ended up with the Devils, but they were also nothing to write home about unless you count his four shutouts in 2021-22. He followed that with just one above-average season before fading this year, and we don’t know if he can bounce back into being a potential franchise goaltender.
This won’t happen with a proven Vezina contender like Saros, even if he could afford to play better down the stretch. Either way you draw it up, Saros is a clear-cut answer in the short-term, which includes the remainder of this season and next year.
Saros is in his prime and would factor in as a long-term solution
Juuse Saros is just 28 and he has a lot of good hockey left in him, so if there is a time to make a move for who has been one of the NHL’s best goaltenders since he started appearing in 40-plus games per season, now is the time to make something happen. The Devils have more than enough cap space to easily add Saros to their lineup. They also have plenty from their core locked up in long-term deals so that Saros won’t be a financial burden in the short and long-term.
Should they trade for Saros, and he plays well for the rest of the 2023-24 season and for a portion of 2024-25, they can realistically lock up their long-term answer at goaltender. This wouldn’t be possible if New Jersey found themselves in cash-strapped situations similar to some contenders or potential contenders, but if they have the means to lock in someone like Saros for an extension down the road, why not trade for him?
Sure, there are restricted free agents coming up this offseason and in 2025 who the Devils would like to extend and keep around as part of the core long-term. But even with those soon-to-be RFAs, it shouldn’t be too much of a deterrent for New Jersey to fix their goaltending woes and keep a player like Saros around long-term while simultaneously extending their younger players.
feed
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference as of February 26th)