<p>Any dog lovers out there?</p>



<p>Picture yourself at the dinner table with your loved ones. The family pooch is sniffing around, waiting for someone to drop something delicious. There’s always a softy in the group who caves and indulges them. The moment that piece of food hits the floor, the dog pounces.</p>



<p>The Nashville Predators, evidently, are the softy at the dinner table. When they extended No. 1 goaltender Juuse Saros and signed a quality backup in Scott Wedgewood on a multi-year deal, they blocked elite prospect Yaroslav Askarov and essentially nudged him out the door. It was thus no surprise when news broke Monday that <a href="https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/report-predators-yaroslav-askarov-requests-trade-will-not-report-to-ahl/">Askarov had requested a trade</a>. He’s 22, he’s one of the best goaltending prospects of his generation, he has logged two seasons of quality play in the AHL, and he even impressed with a .943 save percentage in brief NHL duty this past season. He’s ready for an opportunity at the NHL level.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="159"></div>



<p>And a least half a dozen teams should be hungry dogs rushing under the table to collect that juicy piece of filet mignon Nashville GM Barry Trotz was kind enough to drop. Askarov’s athleticism, size and swagger could make him a game-changer for a goaltending-starved franchise. He’d fit as a building block for a rebuilding team or perhaps even a home-run swing for a contender feeling dissatisfied with its existing puck-stoppers.</p>



<p>Which teams should consider making a pitch for Askarov? Consider these nine.</p>



<p>(And note the conspicuous absence of the Montreal Canadiens. Plenty of theories link them to Askarov, but I’m not buying it. The Habs feel good about their tandem of Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau, they already have an elite netminding prospect in Jacob Fowler, and they just dipped into their area of surplus when they traded Jordan Harris to get Patrik Laine.)</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="145"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The no-brainer rebuilders</h2>



<p></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Columbus Blue Jackets</h3>



<p>Daniil Tarasov took a step forward last season and may have overtaken Elvis Merzlikins as the team’s answer in net for now. But Tarasov has 42 NHL starts to his name. He’s hardly a shoo-in yet to become an above-average starter. The rock-bottom Blue Jackets would be wise to get their hands on any high-upside talents they can find. After trading Laine this week, they’re also flush with cap space and solidly positioned to extend Askarov, who is a 2025 RFA and is thus eligible to sign an extension now.</p>



<p>The Predators could use some young, higher-ceiling talent at the forward position, and the Blue Jackets have a few first-round picks who are still young enough to find their way but haven’t flourished yet in the NHL and could use fresh starts. How about a deal for Askarov built around Kent Johnson, for instance? Cole Sillinger would be another option.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="2" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="151"></div>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">San Jose Sharks</h3>



<p>The Sharks have reached the bottom of the pit and have started laying the foundation for their next generation, building around Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Sam Dickinson and more. While their prospect pipeline has begun to improve dramatically, <a href="https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/2024-25-nhl-prospect-pool-breakdown-san-jose-sharks-top-10/">Daily Faceoff prospect analyst Steven Ellis does not place a single goalie in their top 10</a>. From an organizational need standpoint, the Sharks are <em>the </em>best suitor for Askarov. The only problem is that, because they are at the very start of their rebuild, they might not have any veteran assets Nashville would want. We could be looking at a prospect-for-prospect type of trade in which San Jose would have to sacrifice someone like David Edstrom or Filip Bystedt. Askarov would immediately be superior to any goalie in San Jose’s system, including Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek at the NHL level.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="3" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="139"></div>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Utah Hockey Club</h3>



<p>Goaltending has been closer to a strength than a weakness for Utah given the emergence of Connor Ingram. But he and Karel Vejmelka feel more like stopgaps than stars. Both are in their late 20s and may be in their 30s by the time Utah is contending. Ingram is a 2026 UFA and Vejmelka is a 2025 UFA. This is a long-winded way to say that Utah hasn’t committed to a franchise goaltender at the moment. They could have one someday in Michael Hrabal, but he’s very much a project and is just a teenager. Having accumulated so many prospect assets in recent seasons, Utah is one of the best-equipped trade partners to meet the Predators’ needs should they be open to a prospect-for-prospect swap. Utah GM Bill Armstrong has made seven first-round picks in the past three drafts alone, nabbing Logan Cooley, Conor Geekie, Maveric Lamoureux, Dmitry Simashev, Daniil But, Tij Iginla and Cole Beaudoin. Armstrong used Geekie to land Mikhail Sergachev, but the other six remain.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="4" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="168"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Should they take a risk?</h2>



<p></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Philadelphia Flyers</h3>



<p>On one hand, the Flyers may be loath to bet big on another relatively unproven, high-potential Russian netminder, having handed Ivan Fedotov a two-year contract at a $3.275 million AAV in the spring after watching him play three games in the NHL. They’re also committed to Samuel Ersson for two more years, and they have a pair of strong netminding prospects in Carson Bjarnason and Yegor Zavragin. But the latter two are teenagers and thus years way from the NHL, while Fedotov is already 27 and two seasons away from unrestricted free agency. The Flyers’ top netminding prospect, Alexei Kolosov, is reportedly resisting his AHL assignment and seeking a loan back to the KHL, casting some doubt about his future with the team. Askarov is the same age. He might make more sense for the Flyers than meets the eye. It’s one thing to be stuck behind a star in Saros, but if Askarov is really the prodigy he’s supposed to be, leapfrogging Fedotov and Ersson shouldn’t be too difficult.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="5" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="171"></div>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Seattle Kraken</h3>



<p>The Kraken remain saddled with three more years of Philipp Grubauer’s ugly contract at a $5.9 million AAV. Joey Daccord is quietly coming off one of the best 2023-24 seasons of any netminder in the league, but he’s entering the final season of his contract and will be a UFA next summer. The Kraken could still extend him, of course, but Askarov would get them in on the ground floor at a $925,000 AAV with potential to extend him on a bridge contract at a number that gradually becomes a bargain. The fly in the ointment here is that, in paying huge money and term for Brandon Montour and Chandler Stephenson this summer, Seattle committed to win-now hockey. Would GM Ron Francis be willing to remove an NHLer from his roster as part of a deal? If not, dipping into a shallow prospect pool would be a risky proposition in its own right.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="6" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="153"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Contending teams</h2>



<p></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Carolina Hurricanes</h3>



<p>At first glance, Askarov wouldn’t fit here, right? The Canes are pretty set in net with Frederik Andersen and particularly with Pyotr Kochetkov, whom they appear to be grooming as a long-term No. 1. But Andersen is entering the final year of his deal and is fresh off a season in which he endured a terrifying blood clot scare and failed to elevate his game in the playoffs once healthy. If Carolina wants to think big-picture, an Askarov-Kochetkov duo would be formidable. Three would be a crowd, but Andersen could also attract in-season trade interest as a stopgap rental elsewhere if and when injuries arise. The Canes also have an underrated farm system and thus would theoretically have the assets to appease Nashville in a trade.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Colorado Avalanche</h3>



<p>Alexandar Georgiev excelled in 2022-23 when he finally got his first look as an NHL starter. While he led the league in wins for a second consecutive season last year, he wasn’t the same player at all. <a href="https://moneypuck.com/goalies.htm">Among 65 goalies who played at least 20 games</a>, he sat 38<sup>th</sup> in 5-on-5 goals saved above expected per 60, down from 15<sup>th</sup> the season prior. He flopped in the playoffs, too. Prospect Justus Annunen flashed in his limited duty last year, posting a .928 SV% in 14 appearances, and could push Georgiev for work. </p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="7" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="220"></div>



<p>Georgiev enters the final season of his contract and seems likely to go to market. The Avalanche sit in their obvious win-now window, having won the Stanley Cup two years ago, and aren’t afraid to take swings in hopes of scaling the mountain again. They moved high-ceiling blueliner Bowen Byram at the 2024 trade deadline to address their hole up the middle with Casey Mittelstadt, after all. Bringing in Askarov would give them another talented option to compete with Georgiev – and perhaps push him out of the way by season’s end. Complicating matters is the fact Annunen is no longer waivers-exempt, so GM Chris MacFarland would have to consider trading Georgiev in the event Colorado acquired Askarov. He’s waiver exempt, but sending him down would put him in the very predicament that fuelled his trade request.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="8" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="137"></div>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Los Angeles Kings</h3>



<p>The Kings got out from under Pierre-Luc Dubois’ contract for the next seven years but had to take on three seasons of Darcy Kuemper at $5.25 million annually to do so. Despite the fact Cam Talbot, who left for the Detroit, outplayed him last season, the Kings have pivoted to Kuemper as their starter. If L.A. acquired Askarov, he’d have to beat out David Rittich and take on more of a 1B role early on, as the Kings aren’t paying Kuemper backup money. It wouldn’t be the worst way to break Askarov in. He wouldn’t have to be an immediate savior.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Vancouver Canucks</h3>



<p>Consider the Canucks a deep sleeper. <a href="https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/report-canucks-thatcher-demko-may-not-be-ready-for-training-camp/">According to Rick Dhaliwal of the Athletic</a>, goaltender Thatcher Demko’s rehab from a knee injury is progressing slower than expected and he’s not a lock to be ready for training camp. If the Canucks are not confident that their Vezina Trophy runner-up will return anytime soon, might they consider paying up for Askarov? He’d be an upgrade over Arturs Silovs, who, crucially, remains waivers exempt.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="9" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="172"></div>



<p>_____</p>



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<p>POST SPONSORED BY bet365</p>



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Nashville Predators goaltender Yaroslav Askarov