Fantasy Take: Sharks Acquire Yaroslav Askarov

25 days ago

dobberhockey.com

Michael Clifford

Askarov - Figure 1 — Photo dobberhockey.com

2024-08-23

When the Nashville Predators signed goaltender Juuse Saros to a long-term extension, the writing was on the wall that prospect goalie Yaroslav Askarov was not likely to remain with the franchise for very long. After reports came out that he had requested a trade and would not report to the AHL, it became an untenable situation.

Enter the San Jose Sharks, who traded for Askarov on Friday:

On top of receiving Askarov, the Sharks get forward Nolan Burke and a third-round pick. Going back to the Predators is prospect centre David Edstrom, goalie Magnus Chrona, and a first-round pick.

What The Sharks Get

Even before drafting Macklin Celebrini, the Sharks had started to amass a high-end prospect pool. One area they were deficient was in net, which is why they added Vitek Vanecek and MacKenzie Blackwood over the last calendar year. However, Askarov is arguably the top goalie prospect in the world and this gives them a legitimate young netminder that can grow with Celebrini, Will Smith, Quentin Musty, and the rest.

Goalies are voodoo so we don't know what, exactly, the future holds for Askarov. He was once considered Nashville's goalie of the future but back-to-back seasons of a .911 save percentage in the AHL did not push him into a must-start position with the Predators. There is a reason why they signed Saros long-term.

With that said, Askarov just turned 22 years old a couple of months ago and still has room to grow. Going to San Jose, he'll be in a battle with Vanecek and Blackwood for starts, but this is not a team committed to either of those latter two goalies. If Askarov can show that he can at least be an average starting goalie, he will get starts in net. He has to prove that first, though, and it'll be tough on a Sharks team that should be very good in a few years but still has a lot of growth to do. They are thin on the blue line and feature a lot of young forwards, so there will be growing pains.

This is good news for dynasty fantasy owners because Askarov now has a clear path to being a starter right away, and certainly within a year or two. That was not the case before this trade.

Askarov - Figure 2 — Photo dobberhockey.com

Anyone relying on Vanecek or Blackwood might want to talk to someone about their affliction, but this hurts both their fantasy statuses. Back in Nashville, this cements Scott Wedgewood as Saros's backup goalie, for whatever that's worth in deeper fantasy formats. Chrona will go to the AHL but could be a backup for Saros in a year or two depending on how Wedgewood performs. Edstrom is a good prospect for the team to have in its back pocket, along with three first-round picks, should they want to make an impact trade