The Nashville Predators have agreed to terms on the framework of an eight-year contract extension with franchise goaltender Juuse Saros, a source told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski on Thursday night, confirming multiple reports.
The deal cannot be signed until Monday.
The source confirmed to ESPN that the deal is worth just under $62 million, which would make his salary cap hit roughly $7.74 million through the 2032-33 NHL season. Saros finished fifth in Vezina Trophy voting as the league’s top netminder after backstopping Nashville to the playoffs.
The 29-year-old from Finland has been among the best goalies in hockey over the past five-plus seasons, from playing in tandem with countryman Pekka Rinne to succeeding him as the Predators’ starter. The past two years, he has played the most games, seen the most shots and made the most saves among NHL goaltenders.
Saros in 350 regular-season games, 333 starts, has a 2.63 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.