What to make of Yaroslav Askarov's trade request

Some quick Monday thoughts on the other big story of the day.

Monday turned into a pretty big day in the NHL.

Patrik Laine was traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Montreal Canadiens, along with a second-round pick, for defender Jordan Harris.

It’s another change of scenery trade for Laine, who is still making $8.7 million against the salary cap the next two seasons.

There was also substantial smoke to the rumors that Yaroslav Askarov will be traded by the Nashville Predators.

On Monday morning Kevin Weekes reported that Askarov, the Predators first-round pick in 2020, wouldn’t be reporting to the AHL this season and he had requested a trade through agent, Dan Milstein.

Since Weekes’ report, Milstein has declined to publicly comment — although it’s highly likely he was the source for Weekes’ report, agents are nearly always the source on moves like this — and Predators GM Barry Trotz has stated he expects Askarov to report to camp.

Either way it looks like the end of Askarov’s time in Nashville, which was predictable after the Predators signed Juuse Saros to an eight-year extension on July 1.

The truth is that the Predators have been not-so-quietly shopping Askarov for nearly 18 months.

At the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville, sources in the Predators organization told me Askarov was on the market and Trotz was potentially trying to make a splash in his first draft as GM. A deal never got done, but Trotz continued to dangle Askarov’s name in talks, asking for a first-round pick in return to help with his attempted rapid rebuild.

While this was happening, Askarov was starting to sour on his future in Nashville and started to plant his own seeds for departure last June, switching agents from Newport Sports to Gold Star Hockey.

Gold Star, run by Milstein and his second-in-command Vlad Spektor, have grown a reputation recently of pushing and empowering players when it comes to trades.

Askarov’s AHL teammates in Milwaukee have told me in the past how much they enjoyed playing with the goalie, but there was also always a feeling the goalie would force his way to an organization, sooner than later, that had a better path to a No. 1 NHL job.

So now it’s effectively a staring contest between Trotz and Askarov, and it’s hard to see how it doesn’t end with a trade.

There are several teams that should be interested in Askarov, the goalie is my No. 1 ranked goalie prospect. Here is my scouting report from EP Rinkside on him.

Askarov is a unicorn, in several ways. He plays aggressively and skates exceptionally well, almost like a smaller goalie, but has a larger goalie frame at 6-foot-4. He’s never out of a play, and consistently makes second and third-chance saves because of how well he remains composed, even in the most scrambly moments. He’s by far the most explosive goalie of any of the prospects watched for this exercise. 

Askarov is also an emotional goalie and it impacts his game, which can be a positive and a negative. He gets fired up for certain opponents, he likes playing against other top goalie prospects, and he likes to celebrate big moments publicly. It also makes his struggles snowball a bit, and it’s why he’s lost the net at times in the AHL, with the coaching staff turning to a calmer, more composed veteran. If he can find some balance in his game, Askarov is going to be a surefire No. 1 in the NHL and could contend for Vezina Trophies if he lives up to his tools.

As you can see, I’m very high on the goalie.

There have been rumblings that the San Jose Sharks are interested, while Askarov would also form a nice instant 1A/1B tandem of the future if he ended up with either Utah or Carolina.

Either way it’s something to watch, and it’s going to be a test for Trotz to get the best possible value on a player that everyone now knows is available.