Justus Annunen

This Season So Far

The 2026-27 season has not started. The empty row above is his, and both it and this paragraph fill in on their own from the morning after he first plays: what he has done, what it is worth against his own last season, and the run he is on when the two disagree.

Last Season

28 appearances, 10-12-2, a 2.68 goals-against average and a .9058 save percentage with 1 shutout — 12 thousandths better than Saros across the same season and the same defence.

The Physical Game

6-4 and 210, the opposite build to the man ahead of him. He plays deep and square and lets the puck find him, which behind a club that concedes volume from the perimeter is the right way round.

The lateral movement is the weakness, as it usually is at this size. A play that moves him across the crease gets him reaching.

The Mental Game

A third-round pick who spent 5 seasons behind established starters in Colorado without a clear run at anything, and who has taken every stretch he has been handed and been quietly fine in it.

The Intangibles

The number to look at is at the end. Over his last 10 appearances he stopped .938 on 289 shots, while Saros finished at .892 on 324.

That is a 46 thousandth gap over a fortnight, behind the same defence, and it is exactly the sort of thing a printed annual could never have told you and a season average buries completely.

He is 26 with 80 career games at .8989, so the career figure argues for caution and the fortnight argues for starting him. Nashville finished 26th in even-strength expected goals against and got 8 goals fewer than the chances predicted.

If the club is serious about this season, the net is where it has the cheapest available improvement, and it may already be on the roster.