The Predators and Kings talked Juuse Saros during the season but likely won’t re-visit
Michael Gallagher of Nashville Hockey Now: A source who has firsthand knowledge confirmed that the Nashville Predators and Los Angeles Kings talked about goaltender Juuse Saros before the 2023 NHL trade deadline.
The Predators were asking for two first-round picks plus more. That ended trade talks for the Kings.
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The Kings then traded for goaltender Joonas Korpisalo and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov. The Kings traded Cal Petersen last week and just have Phoenix Copley and Erik Portillo under contract at this point in time.
The Kings don’t have a first-round pick anymore so it seems unlikely they’ll re-visit Saros talks.
Soon-to-be GM Barry Trotz has said he’s open to anything. Saros has two years left at $5 million and they should be able to get a really nice haul of draft picks and prospects if they decide to move him.
Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman last week on the 32 Thoughts: The Podcast on the Nashville Predators and Juuse Saros.
“Nashville did have some conversations about him at the deadline, I think with the Kings. The way that it’s kind of going there, I think it would take a big offer but I think if something did come, they would at least consider it.”
Both Jeff Marek and Friedman think that it’s highly unlikely that the Predators trade Saros.
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Predators free agent notes on Devin Cooley, Cody Glass and Alexandre Carrier
Nick Kieser of Nashville Hockey Now: The Nashville Predators likely won’t buy out anyone when the window opens after the Stanley Cup Final.
The Nashville Predators have 10 restricted free agents, with two of them, Markus Nurmi and Tomas Vomacka, heading back to Europe.
Cody Glass may be their top RFA forward and his agent said last week that they’ve had preliminary talks. Glass and fellow forward RFAs Rasmus Asplund, Jimmy Huntington, John Leonard, and Isaac Ratcliffe are arbitration eligible.
Nashville’s top RFA defenseman is Alexandre Carrier and he missed 39 games with past season after putting up 30 points in 77 games the previous year.