There has been a ton of talk surrounding Juuse Saros this season as the Nashville Predators have fallen out of a playoff spot and may move him with one more year left on his deal. At the very least, the Predators are looking to retool under a new general manager, and it could take some serious moves to pull off. There is no indication that Saros is going to stick around after his contract expires, so trading him might be the best course of action now.
There has been one team in particular that has shown a lot of interest in Saros, and that’s the Carolina Hurricanes. As revealed by Elliotte Friedman, Martin Necas may be a player that the Predators are interested in. This would only happen if Saros is the piece heading to the Hurricanes though. There have been problems all season with goaltending, and the goalie the team has had to lean on most is their youngest of the bunch, Pyotr Kochetkov. While he may be ready to start and has proven to be great at times, he is still a bit inconsistent and the Hurricanes need a healthy and solidified starter to take them all the way to a Stanley Cup.
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Any time Saros is brought up in potential trade destinations, the Hurricanes are in the conversation. I do believe that Kochetkov can be the starter in Carolina for a long time, but the window to win is right now. Saros is a better goalie who is always healthy, starts a ton, and despite some struggles this season on a weaker Predators team, is an elite goalie.
Even if Saros is only acquired by the Hurricanes to play for them this season and next, it gives them two great chances to win that they have lacked in recent years with injuries. If the cost is Necas, so be it. The Hurricanes have the personnel to make up for the loss up front and are one of the teams that play most like a team, not necessarily needing superstar talent to win.
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The Hurricanes’ lines are really spread out right now and Necas is on the third line. This proves that the team doesn’t need him in the top-six playing with certain players for the Hurricanes to succeed. If Necas is moved, any one of the fourth line players at this time can move up. As of right now, the fourth line consists of Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Teuvo Teravainen, and Stefan Noesen, all capable of playing top-six minutes.
Necas is a RFA at the end of the season and has a cap hit of just $3 million AAV this season. He has earned a big raise and as the Hurricanes aren’t exactly known for wanting to give out big money to players, this could play a part in a potential deal.
