Elliotte Friedman has put the Nashville Predators’ goaltending situation on the radar, and now the question is whether other teams start calling.
On his podcast this week, Friedman said Nashville’s two goalies could draw interest around the league, especially now that Connor Hellebuyck is off the board. As he put it: “Someone...pointed out to me...Nashville has a couple of really good goalies...that teams that have 2 of them are gonna get calls; especially now that Connor Hellebuyck is off the board...if you have 2...goalies, you're gonna get calls - 32 Thoughts (11/2)”
That matters because once the top target is gone, the market shifts fast. With Hellebuyck now in New Jersey, teams looking for help in net have to look elsewhere, and Friedman’s point was simple: clubs carrying two capable goalies tend to get phone calls.
Nashville fits that description. The Predators have two goalies who could attract attention, and one of them is a familiar name for general manager Chris MacFarland. MacFarland already moved Justus Annunen once before, sending him from the Colorado Avalanche to Nashville in November 2024 while he was still with Colorado.
Annunen is in the first year of a two-year contract carrying a $1.25 million AAV, but his season has been uneven. In three starts, he has posted a 3.89 goals-against average and an .846 save percentage, along with -2.1 goals saved above expected. The numbers point to real struggles in his recent work.
Even so, he’s only 26 and comes with a manageable cap hit. He also flashed some of the poise that made him appealing in the first place, stopping four straight Tampa Bay Lightning shooters in a shootout win. That kind of showing keeps the door open, at least a little, for a team to see upside.
Juuse Saros is the bigger question. If clubs are asking about goalies, his name is going to come up if he’s available. Saros is in year two of an eight-year extension at $7.74 million AAV, and his production has been solid without quite reaching the level he’s hit in past seasons, when he received Vezina votes.
This year, Saros has started 10 games and owns a 2.94 GAA with a .902 save percentage. He has also stopped 2.7 goals above expected, helping cover for a defense that has been leaky at times. In other words, he’s been doing enough to keep Nashville afloat while the rest of the crease conversation starts to heat up.
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Predators May Have To Pay Big For This Blue Line Upgrade
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For a team trying to improve on defense, Edvinsson checks a lot of boxes on paper, which is why the speculation has picked up around him. Any deal, though, is expected to come at a steep price, and Nashville may have to weigh how much of its future it is willing to part with to land a player who could change the look of the back end. [Read more 🡒]