No team made more noise this summer than the Nashville Predators, who all seemed to rush to get going once free agency began. Not only was Juuse Saros’s extension confirmed on July 1, Barry Trotz and the Predators were able to sign Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessult, Brady Skjei, Scott Wedgewood and bring back Alexandre Carrier.
Saros spoke about his experience on July 1, noting that he was playing tennis and didn’t know what was happening until his wife finally got a hold of him. This indicates that his deal was already done as reported before the opening of free agency, but there was no rush because he still has a year left on his current contract.
Saors noted that Trotz had indicated that Nashville was “looking for a couple of additional players, but maybe we weren’t expecting that big of a jump.” I don’t think anyone expected the Predators, who frankly had a lot of salary cap space to exploit, to be able to land multiple former Stanley Cup champions and a very underrated top-four defenseman.
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Usually a team can bring in one big free agent and call it a success. If the Predators could just bring in one of Stamkos, Marchessault or Skjei I don’t think there would be many complaints. The fact that they were able to bring in all three and more is a reason for the players already on the Predators to be very excited.
Saros said, “I was really excited, I think everybody was. I can’t wait.” The Predators starter has been part of some strong Nashville teams, but not as a starter. With these additions, this group has a chance to do something special.
When Saros heard that Carrier was also coming back, he called him to congratulate him. But while Carrier had reason to be excited about his own deal and the fact that he’ll be staying in Nashville with this very good team, Saros said the d-man was “just as excited about (the new guys) as he was about his own contract.
There is a chance Carrier will play with Skjei as his partner, whether that is a little bit or more if Jeremy Lauzon and Carrier part ways. Carrier is under contract for three more years and something big could happen for the Predators in that winning window. Saros is under contract for nine more seasons and has every reason to be very excited about what Trotz has given Nashville this offseason.
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