The Nashville Predators (13-16-4) are having a good December. After a rough November where they only won four of their 13 games, they’ve won five of eight games this month. They’re still at the bottom of the Central Division due to the stacked competition, but they have 30 points, tied with the Seattle Kraken (12-13-6) and Calgary Flames (13-17-4) and ahead of the Vancouver Canucks (13-17-3) in the Western Conference.
A lot of components have factored into that. Longtime defenseman Roman Josi recovered from an upper-body injury, and he hasn’t skipped a beat, scoring a goal and notching eight assists in 13 games since his return. Steven Stamkos has found his shot, potting in six goals and tallying another two assists in eight games in December, and he is second on the team in goals behind Filip Forsberg (15).
Related: Steven Stamkos Scores 4 Goals, Predators Win 7-2 vs. Blues
However, the biggest performer during this stretch has been goaltender Juuse Saros. His netminding has been the key to the Predators’ success, and it’s a great sign for their rebuild.
The Start
Saros was drafted in the fourth round of the 2013 NHL Draft by Nashville as their goalie of the future. Pekka Rinne was still in peak form, finishing third in Vezina Trophy voting during the 2013-14 season. However, Rinne was entering his 30s, and after the 2020-21 season, he ended his prolific career, giving Saros the starting job.
Saros picked up right where Rinne left off in net. From 2021-22 to 2023-24, Saros averaged 65 starts a season, notching a 106-72-15 record along with an average .915 save percentage (SV%) and 2.73 goals-against average (GAA). He had the second-most wins in the NHL behind New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin, and he was ranked seventh in SV% among goalies who started over 100 games. He also received votes for the Vezina Trophy each year during that span.
That stretch of play earned him a sizeable reward with Nashville. Despite having top goaltender prospect Yaroslav Askarov and Saros earning considerable trade interest, the Predators gave him an eight-year, $61.92 million deal on July 1, 2024. They subsequently traded Askarov to the San Jose Sharks on Aug. 23, 2024.
The Decline
Saros had a rough start to the contract. In the 2024-25 season, he had a 20-31-6 record and an .895 SV%. He had the most losses among goaltenders in the NHL, and his struggles epitomized the struggles with the Predators. They went from a 47-30-5 record and playoff berth in 2023-24 to a 30-44-8 record and top-five pick in 2024-25.
There was a lot of blame to be thrown around among different parts of the organization. The three big signings of the 2024 offseason (Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, Brady Skjei) underperformed, young guys like Juuso Pärssinen, Luke Evangelista, and Thomas Novak didn’t take the next step, and Gustav Nyquist couldn’t continue his scoring output. He went from 75 points in 2023-24 to just 21 points in 2024-25 before being traded to the Minnesota Wild.
However, a lot of the blame lies on the shoulders of Saros, and his regression was the exclamation point to the Predators’ fall from grace.
The Hope
In 2025-26, it started out rough for Saros. He had a .900 SV% in October and an .873 SV% in November. As a result, the Predators had the fifth-worst record in October (4-6-2) and the worst record in November (4-7-2).
Then, Saros turned things around. Through the month of December, he has a .919 SV%. This includes allowing just one goal in matchups against the Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames. He did allow six goals against the Carolina Hurricanes on Dec. 6, but that’s the only game where he’s had a lower than .900 SV%.
With his positive play, the Predators have gone 5-3-0 in December, which is the sixth-best record in the Western Conference.
This is the second-best month that Saros has had since his extension in 2024. If this is the Saros the Predators are getting, they should feel a lot better about their outlook on the season and the future with their top netminder. Nashville couldn’t make the 2017 Stanley Cup Final without Rinne, and fans are hoping Saros could be the goaltender for when they make a run again.
