3 days Ago
The San Jose Sharks beat out trade offers from four main competitors to get Yaroslav Askarov last month: the Carolina Hurricanes , Montreal Canadiens , Colorado Avalanche and Philadelphia Flyers . More on that in a moment. But how the process even got to that point is definitely worth a more detailed examination.
Advertisement Circle Aug. 2 as a key moment. That day on a Zoom call, agent Dan Milstein and his young client Askarov, who was also on the call, had bad news for the Nashville Predators .
They wanted a more direct path to the NHL . They wanted a trade. They weren’t going to report to camp otherwise.
Not surprising news, mind you. Preds general manager Barry Trotz knew from the moment he agreed to an eight-year extension with Juuse Saros at the draft in Vegas in late June (officially signed July 1) that it might force the team to move on from Askarov. GO DEEPER Why the Predators committed to Juuse Saros over top goaltending prospect Yaroslav Askarov Which is why Trotz did talk to teams in the lead-up to the first round of the draft in Vegas about potential fits with Askarov, but that never came to pass.
“I knew when I signed Saros it was a possibility,” Trotz told The Athletic last week. But all the while, Trotz also held to the belief that with Mitch Korn (director of goaltending) joining the front office in Nashville, the Preds might entice the 22-year-old Russian goalie into gaining from that tutelage while his development this season saw both NHL and AHL games. “I went out and signed who I think is the best goaltending coach in the game in Mitch Korn,” Trotz said.
“We had a plan. Mitch and Ben Vanderklok, our goalie coach, they went through hours and hours of film, breaking down stuff that they still needed him (Askarov) to, I’ll say, adjust his game so that he could continue to grow.” In the meantime, because Saros is a high-volume goalie, the Preds felt it necessary to bring in quality NHL backup goalie Scott Wedgewood because they believed Askarov needed to play a lot of games, which meant a hybrid NHL-AHL role.
“I wanted to surround him with really good coaches and get him NHL games and also AHL games just because of the high workload of our No. 1 goalie,” Trotz said. So that was the plan, to continue Askarov’s development under Korn and Vanderklok and provide a path that would get the Russian goalie to the next level.
Advertisement It appeared Askarov was OK with that for a while, until the call on Aug. 2. “Our goalie department worked all summer on a plan,” Trotz said.
“And I had talked to Dan Milstein and he said his client’s desire was to be in the National Hockey League and I said, ‘Dan, every player who plays this game, his desire is to be in the National Hockey League, but I want to do what’s best for him, for his future long-term.’ You can tell me until you’re blue in the face that you want to be in the NHL but the only thing that tells me that you should be in the NHL is consistency, performance, mental makeup in terms of dealing with whatever comes at you, I would say mental maturity — all those things let you know that you’re ready.” Trotz added that Askarov is a super talent, to be sure.
“I knew it was a possibility that I would have to move him if I signed Saros,” he said. “But at the same time, when we did talk (with Milstein), we said we would have full cooperation between himself and his client and let’s just get to camp and go over the plan and see where it’s at. “But he did say his desire was to be in the NHL and he may not report.
” And that’s really the bad news part of it for Nashville, the timing of it. If this was headed for a trade request, it would have been better for the Preds to know it in June when more teams hadn’t figured out their goaltending situation. Once Kevin Weekes tweeted on Aug.
19 about the trade request, the Preds had no choice but to move on. **Breaking News** 🚨 📰 I’m told that Top Goalie Prospect Askarov has informed the @PredsNHL that he will not report to their @TheAHL team, and has requested a trade. #HockeyX #Preds pic.
twitter.com/EQFGs7FUJK — Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) August 19, 2024 On Aug. 23, the Predators traded Askarov with a third-round pick and Nolan Burke for center prospect David Edstrom , a first-round pick and goalie prospect Magnus Chrona .
As mentioned, the four main teams that were competing with the Sharks in those trade talks were the Canes, Habs, Avalanche and Flyers, per multiple league sources. Advertisement Without being able to confirm exactly what those teams were willing to offer, it’s hard to say for sure why the Preds chose San Jose’s offer, but they like Edstrom a lot on top of that first-round pick. “When it came out publicly (the trade request), late in the game, when everyone had their goaltending settled, that was the only thing that unfortunately put me at a slight disadvantage,” Trotz said.
But he tried to make the best out of that situation. “There was lot of interest in the league from different teams,” Trotz said. “I would say San Jose was interested from Day 1.
” In fact, Trotz said, he spoke with Sharks GM Mike Grier about Askarov even before the June draft because San Jose had a second first-round pick, at No. 11. The discussion didn’t escalate at the time.
Still, Trotz was doing his due diligence and San Jose was identified as a potential, veritable trade partner. Which finally materialized Aug. 23.
“Mike was very consistent,” Trotz said of Grier. “I got lots of inquiries from lots of different teams. Some of them had offers that weren’t very sincere.
“I think we did a fair deal with San Jose. In negotiating with Mike, it was always, ‘Let’s do a good hockey trade.’ You get the best prospect, you’re going to win the trade most times, but I’m really happy to get David Edstrom because we want to continue to add to our center ice.
Our scouts really liked him. He was something we really liked at the draft. And getting the pick ( Vegas’ 2025 first-round pick), it gives us a lot draft capital now with three first-round picks next year.
” The Preds have their own first-round pick next June plus Tampa Bay ’s and Vegas’, which could be used to draft players or as assets in trades. In the end, Askarov got his wish. “He’s thankful for the Nashville Predators for accommodating his request,” Milstein told The Athletic last week.
“He’s looking forward to the new opportunity. He knows there are two goalies signed to one-way contracts in San Jose and completely understands that nothing is given. Advertisement “He’s going to have to compete for the spot.
” Yes, Vitek Vanecek (one year left at $3.4 million) and Mackenzie Blackwood (one year left at $2.35 million) are on one-way contracts, but let’s be real: There is a clear path to the NHL if Askarov shows he’s ready.
He signed a two-year extension as part of the trade which kicks in next season for $2 million per year. Yes, it’s a real competition at camp this month, but still. He’s going to be the guy for many years in San Jose.
Once Saros signed, Askarov was always going to get traded, but in a perfect world for Nashville, this probably was not the way it would have gone down. Given the legitimate threat the player wasn’t going to report to camp, though, the Predators were probably wise to make the best deal when they could. (Photo: Dave Kallmann / USA Today).
