Weighing San Jose Sharks Trade for Yaroslav Askarov – Hockey Writers – News and Rumors
One of the hottest trade stories of the NHL summer ended Friday afternoon after the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators struck a deal that sent standout goaltender Yaroslav Askarov to western California.
Askarov, whose future in Nashville has seemed uncertain since the Juuse Saros extension, finally requested a trade earlier this week, after months of speculation. Predators general manager Barry Trotz struck quickly, picking the Sharks among the top prospects. With so few players, it will take years to have an idea of who exactly “wins” this trade, but here are the early grades based on what we know now.
Sharks Build From Back in the Best Way
For a team in the Sharks position, deep in a long and painful rebuild, landing Askarov is a coup. An old hockey saying insists that champions are “built on the back,” meaning that a good goaltender and reliable defensemen are essential to building a young franchise. With Askarov, they got the best young goalkeeper in the world according to many analysts. The 22-year-old was selected 11th overall in the 2020 Draft and has continued to impress scouts. Last season, with the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League, he posted a 2.39 goals-against average (GAA) and a .911 save percentage (SV%) in 44 starts.
From a PR standpoint, they've now turned one of the worst aspects of general manager Mike Grier's resume into a positive. At the trade deadline last season, the Sharks traded forward Tomáš Hertl and two third-round picks to their division rival, the Vegas Golden Knights, for defenseman David Edstrom and a 2025 first-round pick. That move was largely dismissed as a desperate, head-scratching move by commentators at the time.
Now, the two pieces they got in return for Hertl are bound for Nashville, and they have high hopes of scoring themselves in the world coming to the organization. If Askarov thrives and becomes the great network custodian he is thought to be, then the trade that became Hertl and the rest of Askarov's picks will be remembered fondly. Undrafted free agent signee Nolan Burke is almost beyond contract expiration, but he's only 21 years old and has scored 50 goals with the Sarnia Sting in the 2022-23 season. And the third round pick the Sharks got helps fill one of the two spots committed to Hertl.
Related: San Jose Sharks 2024-25 Projected Lineup
With first-choice Macklin Celebrini already in, along with Will Smith in form and a respectable core working in Sam Dickinson and Shakir Mukhamadullin, there is finally a sense of excitement in the Bay area again. The rebuild isn't over yet, but few teams in the NHL have better three-prospects than Celebrini, Smith, and Askarov. Grier has put his organization in good stead with this move.
Shark Grade: A+
Trotz Faces Problems Quickly
The Predators were in an awkward position. Undoubtedly, Trotz hoped to continue at least a few more seasons with the guard tandem of Saros and Askarov. When the latest trade request became public, he had to change his plans. And he didn't waste time to deal with this situation.
The return the Predators received may be up for some debate. In the Draft, Nashville was rumored to be only willing to part with Askarov if it included them in the top five picks. In comparison, a late first-round pick and a first-round prospect who has been traded twice since his draft year seem overkill. But Trotz was backed into a corner, and his negotiating partners probably knew it.
Edstrom will be the lynchpin of this deal. He has already moved from the Vegas Golden Knights, who drafted him 32nd after winning the Stanley Cup in 2023, and is now joining his third organization before playing a single game. That might suggest that the past two teams don't value him too much, but that would be a mistake. It can easily be pointed out that three different groups want him badly. And now the Predators, an organization known for developing top defensemen, will get to mold him into the cornerstone of their blue line.
Goaltender Magnus Chrona adds an immediate offensive rebounding prospect to the Predators' lineup, though he's nowhere near Askarov's caliber. The 23-year-old was drafted in the fifth round in 2018, and struggled in the AHL last season, posting a 3.49 GAA and .894 SV% in 31 games with the San Jose Barricud. The Predators probably aren't counting on him to replace Askarov, but it's nice to have another young netminder in the fold right away.
Nashville was corner-backed here, and it's hard to argue that they have the “right” value for a prospect as good as Askarov. But they do well considering the circumstances. They now have a new defense and three first-round picks in next season's draft, giving them plenty of ammunition to compete at the trade deadline.
Nashville grade: B
Time Will Tell
Prospects are flexible, and prospect prospects are not very difficult to identify. But Askarov's future looks as bright as any goaltending prospect in recent memory, and he could join fellow Russians Andrei Vasilevskiy, Ilya Samsonov, and Igor Shesterkin as the fourth face on the Mount Rushmore of Russian goaltenders taking the NHL by storm (and that's without mentioning Sergei Bobrovsky). If he does, the Sharks will look back on this day as a game-changing trade. Nevertheless, the Predators act respectfully in managing a difficult situation and bring it to a quick resolution without selling an important asset to keep it from returning. It will take time to know exactly how this trade is remembered.
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