Two teams reportedly already emerge as frontrunners to land Yaroslav Askarov
Photo credit: USA Today
According to a new report, two teams appear to have emerged as frontrunners to land the young and promising Nashville Predators' goaltender Yaroslav Askarov.
It hasn't been a secret that Askarov has asked his general manager, Barry Trotz, to be traded. With Trotz deciding to sign Juuse Saros to an eight-year, $7.74M AAV extension and acquiring Scott Wedgewood on free agency, this doesn't leave a lot of options for Askarov, who's looking to compete in the NHL next season.
However, this isn't a bad move from Trotz. Both Saros and Wedgewood have already shown they can compete at a high level in the NHL.
In 350 games in the NHL, Saros tallied a 182-119-32 record, as well as a 2.63 GAA and a .917 SV%. Drafted 99th overall in 2013 by the Predators, he has spent his whole career in Nashville and, with his extension, will likely stay there for a while.
Wedgewood, like Saros, has been in the NHL system for a long time. Drafted 84th overall in 2010 by the New Jersey Devils, he spent the last two seasons as Jake Oettinger's number two with the Dallas Stars. In the 2023-24 season, he played 32 games and tallied a 16-7-5 record, 0.899 SV%, and 2.85 GAA.
On X, a post made by Michael Gallagher gained a lot of attention, as he revealed two teams to keep an eye on in the Askarov situation: the San Jose Sharks and the Carolina Hurricanes.
Askarov, 22, has only taken part in three NHL games in his career. He showed that he can compete at a high level in the league by tallying a .914 SV% and a 2.57 GAA. He also had success in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals, where he maintained a GAA under 2.70 and a consistent .911 SV% over the past two years.
Both the Sharks and the Hurricanes could use a goaltender like him.
The Canes are once again eyeing a deep playoff run, and Askarov could be the missing piece to make that happen.
As for the Sharks, they might be rebuilding, but with young players coming in like Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, Askarov could be in a position to really speed up that process.
With training camp starting in a few weeks, it'll be interesting to see what the Predators decide to do with the goalie.
Source for Yaroslav Askarov's statistics: Hockey DB
Source for Scott Wedgewood's statistics: Hockey DB
Source for Juuse Saros' statistics: Hockey DB
| POLL | ||
19 AOUT | 329 ANSWERS Two teams reportedly already emerge as frontrunners to land Yaroslav Askarov Where do you think the Nashville Predators will trade goaltender Yaroslav Askarov? | ||
| Carolina Hurricanes | 27 | 8.2 % |
| San Jose Sharks | 56 | 17 % |
| Another team | 176 | 53.5 % |
| He won't be traded | 70 | 21.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
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