The Nashville Predators have received some pressing news in that top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov has requested a trade. This comes after a series of events this summer from Juuse Saros signing for eight more years and Scott Wedgewood being brought in to be the backup on a two-year deal.
There is no short-term path to being a starter in Nashville for Askarov, so he sped up the process. According to Kevin Weekes, Askarov will not report to their AHL team, the Milwaukee Admirals, if he doesn’t make the Predators out of training camp.
This is an interesting situation as Askarov has the chance to alter his path moving forward for now if he is able to step up and earn his spot in the NHL. It’s not the fact that Wedgewood could be picked up on waivers if Askarov makes the Predators that is the problem, it’s that the young goaltender is just 22 years old, has three games of NHL experience, and isn’t even off his entry-level contract yet. There’s not very many goaltenders that get their spot in the NHL before their entry-level deal is up.
The Predators have less than two months to make a decision on Askarov as they could choose to trade him before there is the chance of him being sent to the AHL and not reporting, keeping his value a bit higher, or take the risk and see if he makes the team. The second option comes with a bigger risk than reward.
Askarov’s trade request already indicates he doesn’t want to be in the Nashville organization as he doesn’t believe he has a chance to get the playing time he already thinks he deserves. So if he doesn’t beat out Wedgewood for the backup role, he won’t report to Milwaukee and the Predators hands will be tied, leading to less value being offered by every interested team. If Askarov does make the team, how soon until he wants to start and asks for another trade or holds out on a deal? With Askarov on the team and Wedgewood placed on waivers after training camp, this would hurt the goaltending depth of the Predators if he’s claimed.
The best course of action seems to be to field all the offers for Askarov and make the trade sooner rather than later, whether it’s within the division or conference or not. It’s not the most ideal situation for the Predators, but this is the hand they were dealt after trying to rightfully win now.
