Yahoo Sports Juuse Saros Joins 3 Former Predators on Finland's 4 Nations Face-Off Roster
Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros was among the first six players to be named to Team Finland's roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off back in June, and he'll be joining some familiar faces as he represents his home country at the inaugural tournament in February.
The full rosters were revealed Wednesday, and three of Saros' former Predators teammates were also named to the squad: New Jersey Devils forward Erik Haula, San Jose Sharks forward Mikael Granlund and Vancouver Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen.
Haula's time in Nashville was brief, as he signed a one-year contract with the Predators as a free agent for what ended up being the pandemic-shortened season in 2020-21. He scored nine goals and 21 points in 51 games for Nashville before signing a two-year deal with the Boston Bruins the following offseason. He is now in the second season of a three-year, $9.45 million contract extension with the Devils.
Granlund, a former alternate captain with the Predators, was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins as part of a large-scale sell-off at the trade deadline during the 2022-23 season. The Penguins flipped him to San Jose the following offseason as part of a three-team deal that also involved the Montreal Canadiens. Granlund is currently leading the Sharks with 29 points through 26 games in 2024-25.
Lankinen spent the previous two seasons as Saros' goaltending tandem partner in Nashville before signing a free-agent deal with the Vancouver Canucks for 2024-25. He recently made history by becoming the first-ever NHL goalie to start his season with a 10-0-0 record on the road.
Predators general manager Barry Trotz revealed that the team tried to bring Lankinen back in the offseason, but Lankinen believed he could get a larger contract on the open market. That turned out not to be the case, and he signed a one-year, $875,000 deal with the Canucks just before the start of training camp. With the injury to Thatcher Demko, Lankinen has been a godsend to Vancouver and will almost certainly command a larger contract next offseason.
Finland opens the tournament with a matchup against Team USA on Feb. 13 at Bell Centre in Montreal (7 p.m. CT, ESPN, SN, TVAS).
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