The Nashville Predators already have two goaltenders in the NHL, including star goaltender Juuse Saros, so unfortunately, they currently have no room for Askarov.
And Askarov, rightly so, would ideally not want to return to play in the American Hockey League.
Clearly, he has already proven that he is too strong for the AHL.
We know that the young goaltender was offered in a trade to the Montreal Canadiens during the 2023 draft.
Yaroslav Askarov a bel et bien été proposé au Canadien de Montréal.
Could these discussions resume between Montreal and Nashville?
The excellent Marc-Olivier Beaudoin believes that it would be a major move for general manager Kent Hughes.
Personally, I have great faith in Jacob Fowler, and I also believe in Samuel Montembeault, but I also think that having a dominant goaltender is extremely important if the Canadiens want to hope to go far in the playoffs.
And Askarov could really be a special goaltender... He could be an Andrei Vasilevskiy or an Igor Shesterkin.
If Kent Hughes finds a logical trade for his team, why not? However, if not, it wouldn't be the end of the world either.
Yaroslav Askarov, 22 years old, is a young right-handed goaltender, standing 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighing 178 pounds.
He was the 11th overall pick in 2020 (1st round) and had a record of 30 wins and 13 losses last season in the American Hockey League.
In two NHL games, he posted a goals-against average of 1.47 and a save percentage of 0.943.
A goaltender of this caliber is really not available often.
POLL | ||
AOUT 17 | 1173 ANSWERS Yaroslav Askarov has been offered in a trade to the Canadiens, and it would be a major move according to MOB Would you trade the Panthers' first-round pick + Owen Beck for Yaroslav Askarov? | ||
Yes | 607 | 51.7 % |
No | 566 | 48.3 % |
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