Nashville Predators general manager Barry Trotz still is thinking about what could’ve been.
Trotz and the Predators made headlines last week when they shipped off top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov, a 2025 third-round selection (originally a Colorado pick) and Nolan Burke to the San Jose Sharks for David Edstrom, a 2025 first-round selection (originally Vegas’ selection) and goaltender Magnus Chrona.
Askarov was the Predators’ No. 11 overall draft selection in the 2020 NHL Draft, and his future with the club was put into question when Nashville inked starting netminder Juuse Saros to an eight-year extension on July 1.
While the latest trade made sense from the outside looking in, with Askarov previously indicating that he wanted a shot at a full-time role in the NHL, Trotz envisioned things working out differently.
“I can’t tell you how many hours our goaltending department had put in to prepare the program we’re gonna put in front of (Askarov),” Trotz said in an interview with The Tennessean.
According to Trotz, the team’s development plan was going to help the young netminder reach his full potential.
“We had a really good plan,” Trotz said. “We had it set up for what this guy is going to be. We were going to get him to his highest level.”
It wouldn’t have been the first time Trotz and director of goaltending Mitch Korn helped a goalie reach elite status.
Korn, who was hired by Trotz in May, spent 16 seasons (1998-2014) with the Predators when Trotz was the head coach of the team. The two teamed up to develop elite netminders such as Tomas Vokoun and Pekka Rinne.
Over Korn’s lengthy career, he also helped Dominik Hasek win four Vezina Trophies (1994, 1995, 1997, 1998) and Braden Holtby win one in 2016.
“With the plan, he was either going to be a great goalie for us or a great chip in a movement to another team and be a great goalie there for a long time,” Trotz said.
Despite the development plan and Nashville’s shiny track record of producing goalies, in the end, Askarov’s desire to play at the NHL level won out.
“I believe the one thing Askarov has indicated to both the Predators, and it’s kind of been floating around league-wide, is that he doesn’t want to go to the American Hockey League, he wants to play in the NHL next year,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast earlier this month. “So, I think there are some teams that are kind of looking at it like, ‘If we want to acquire this guy, we better make sure we have space to play him,’ because there’s no point in acquiring him if he’s going to be unhappy or he’s going to be uncertain about his future.”
The Sharks were one of the few teams that could afford to take a risk on the young goaltender. Before the trade, San Jose had Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek pencilled in as its tandem in net.
Askarov, 22, appeared in two games for Nashville last season, going 1-0-0 with a 1.47 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage. He’s appeared in three total NHL games, all with Nashville, recording a 2.58 GAA and .914 save percentage.
He will certainly get his chance to play with the Sharks, but on a young, rebuilding roster, Askarov’s first real shot at the NHL level could be filled with some major growing pains.