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.