The Nashville Predators should trade Juuse Saros.

I told the two-time NHL All-Star as much Thursday morning.

He said he understood where I was coming from.

The bargain year left on his contract. The haul they could get for him. That Yaroslav Askarov is knocking on the NHL's door and will be much cheaper for much longer than Saros will. That the Predators are looking less and less playoff-bound with each passing game.

"I totally get it," Saros told The Tennessean Thursday morning before he was pulled after one period Thursday night. "Never say never."

Saros also made it clear he does not want to leave − before his contract expires after next season, or after. That he hopes and figures he and the team will begin contract extension negotiations in earnest this summer.

He'll be due a considerable raise from the $5 million a year he makes now. He'll get that raise.

But he grew up here. He learned under Pekka Rinne here. He became an elite goalie here.

Juuse Saros on Barry Trotz: 'He says it straight up'

Truth is, the Nashville Predators likely won't trade Juuse Saros.

He didn't need me or anyone else to tell him that.

General manager Barry Trotz already has.

Saros said Trotz leveled with him long before any headlines sprouted suggesting he could be dealt to the New Jersey Devils or the Los Angeles Kings or the fill-in-the-blank-desperate-at-the-trade-deadline team.

"That's what I like about (Trotz), too," Saros said. "It's not the plan (to trade me). He says it straight up, 'I can't promise you anything.'

"He's kept me in the loop. When those headlines start coming out he'll calm me down, tell me not to worry about it too much."

It's not new news just because someone rebroaches the subject and it's nauseatingly recirculated on social media. The March 8 trade deadline is around the corner, though. These things are bound to happen, even though neither Trotz's stance on Saros nor Saros' desire to stay in Nashville has wavered.

"I feel like it's since last year, when guys started to get traded," Saros said. "It's been kind of the same topic. It's part of the business, which you can't control. Every now and then you hear stuff. I've kind of gotten used to it.

"I don't think about it too much."

Juuse Saros: 'I would like to stay'

Trotz isn't shopping Saros. Doubt he ever has. He's made it clear he wants to extend him. But food for thought seems to never go stale, especially given the Predators' recent struggles.

Trotz would be a fool to turn a deaf ear should an absurd offer surface. For any of his players. This strategy isn't exclusive to Saros. It's literally Trotz's job to listen. That's not news.

You think Trotz was shopping Tanner Jeannot last year before he received an obscene offer from the Tampa Bay Lightning?

My guess is no.

So when he's asked about Saros' status, Trotz is being truthful.

TRADE WINDS: Are Nashville Predators open to trading 2-time All-Star goalie Juuse Saros? Some thoughts

Saros is not salty. He's said he's not distracted. He gets it.

"I would like to stay," he said. "That's number one for sure."

He'll also understand if he ends up going somewhere else.

All part of the business.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What Juuse Saros said about Nashville Predators possibly trading him