The Nashville Predators announced that they have traded goaltender Yaroslav Askarov to the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks will also eeceive a 2025 third round pick, and Nolan Burke. The Predators get a 2025 first round pick (top ten protected), David Edstrom, and Magnus Chrona. While this move may initially seem shocking, their big extension of goaltender Juuse Saros seemed to put the writing on the wall.
Predators Trade Yaroslav Askarov
The Nashville Predators looked to really solidify their goaltending depth in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft when they selected Yaroslav Askarov with the 11th pick. As the first goalie off the board that year, he was widely considered a potential elite or at least starting NHL goaltender down the road. He was the second youngest goalie to start a game in KHL history when he made his debut with SKA St. Petersburg at 17 years old. In addition to his strong athletic abilities and mental game, Askarov sits at 6′ 3″ and 178 lbs.
Askarov made the jump to North America in 2022. He played 48 games for the Milwauke Admirals of the AHL but saw one game of NHL action. With the admirals he had a 2.69 GAA with a .911 SV%. He also had three shutouts. During the 2023-24 season, Askarov again played most of the time in the AHL. He had six shutouts and finished with a 2.39 GAA and .911 SV% in 44 games. These are pretty solid numbers for a young goaltender.
What This Means
While Askarov has played most of his career in the AHL since coming to North America, this is nothing to scoff at as goalies take usually longer, and less straight lined, paths to the NHL. The ceiling on Askarov still seems very high and this is what he brings. He seems ready to take more starts in the NHL but will instantly bolster the goaltending depth for the future. As far as Nashville is concerned, they put their trust in Sarros for the future by signing him long term. At that point it became more of a numbers game with them deciding to recoup assets in exchange for Askarov. Time will tell what this Askarov trade looks like in the future.
Main Photo Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
