NHL Rumors: Could Juuse Saros be the answer to the Edmonton Oilers questions in Net?

Could Juuse Saros be an upgrade the Edmonton Oilers need to put them over the top?

B/R Open ice: Frank Seravalli on whether the Edmonton Oilers should upgrade their net. They are limited in cap space, trade assets and the goalie market is thin. Would be the Nashville Predators goaltender Her in Saros be the answer?

** NHLRumors.com transcription

‘If you are convinced of that Stuart Skinner is not the answer, and I think we’ve seen enough sample sizes to even ask that question. There have been 118 games started for Stuart Skinner over the past three seasons, and the save percentage is exactly .900.

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So slightly below the competition average. And you might say that goaltending at the highest levels of the league isn’t going to bring a Stanley Cup to Edmonton, and you might be right. While his playoff numbers are pretty good, and as my friend Bob Stauffer recently pointed out on the radio in Edmonton, he defeated Jake Ottinger, undeniably one of the best goalies in the league, in back-to-back Western Conference Finals to help the Oilers get to the Stanley Cup Final.

But what’s out there? This is an Edmonton team that doesn’t have a lot of cap space. That doesn’t really have much to offer in terms of prospects. So how do you go out and buy a goalkeeper, and is Saros the solution?

I know there isn’t a team goalkeeper market out there, but Saros wouldn’t be the choice for me for a number of reasons. One, he’s coming in, or he’s in the first year of an eight-year contract that will last him until he’s 39. Two, his numbers have been down for two seasons in a row now, this and the last. And third, from an overall holistic perspective, for a team that doesn’t really have the max space and hasn’t devoted the max space to goaltending in many ways.

What you have is what you get, with Stuart Skinner and what they can afford to pay for in recent years. That’s pretty much what they’re left with: If you’re going to spend twice as much cap space on goaltending, if Juuse Saros is five feet away, is he the answer?

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He had a long track record as one of the best goalies in the league and was the backbone of the Preds franchise. But when it comes to his size and ability to win when it comes to the playoffs, that’s the big question everyone is asking about Saros. Does he make you feel more comfortable about being an Oiler fan, given the price and obligation on your cap? I don’t know if he does enough for me to warrant such an acquisition.

And then the next question is: is there a price for that takeover? Yes, we know the goaltending market is thin. This is just my opinion. The way I see it from 30,000 feet is that the natural predator should pay you to take Juuse Saros’ deal, given how much is left on it, and given how bad the game has been lately.

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