Prospects have been on the move over this past week. First, the Winnipeg Jets and Pittsburgh Penguins swapped former 14th-overall picks Rutger McGroarty for Brayden Yager one-for-one. Then, on Friday afternoon, the disgruntled young Nashville Predators goaltender Yaroslav Askarov got his wish and was traded to the San Jose Sharks.
Askarov requested his trade after the Predators showed their cards on how they plan to handle his future with the club.
To start, it did look like there was a real path for Askarov to earn the backup role when the team didn’t re-sign Kevin Lankinen. However, just a few hours into July 1st, the Predators announced they signed Scott Wedgewood to a two-year deal. While the opportunity still remained that the club could choose to move on from 29-year-old Juuse Saros and move forward with 22-year-old Yaroslav Askarov, we quickly found out their decision.
Five minutes after the Predators announced the Wedgewood signing, they also announced an eight-year extension for Saros. With a dimming vision for Askarov to earn playing time in the National Hockey League next season, the Russian goaltender informed the team he would not report to the American Hockey League next season.
Shortly then after, a trade request followed, and suitors began to quickly emerge. The Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, and Montreal Canadiens were considered the leaders in the clubhouse for the former first-round pick. But ultimately, the Sharks walked away with the grand prize.
San Jose traded the Vegas Golden Knights 2025 first-round pick (top-10 protected), the former 32nd overall pick in 2023, David Edstrom and Magnus Chrona. Along with Askarov, Nashville dealt Nolan Burke and a third-round pick in 2025 to the Sharks.
Now let’s put on our Canucks tinted glasses…
First, Thatcher Demko.
With all of the Canucks goaltending drama going on, could Askarov have been an option for the Canucks to try and trade for?
If the team was concerned about Demko’s long-term health, it may have been an option. But that doesn’t look to be the case after the Athletic’s Thomas Drance & Rick Dhaliwal’s latest article that quotes;
“The club is exploring its options and appears to be in the market for additional insurance in net. That’s understandable, given that Demko remains without a timeline as he progresses through his rehab, and is coming off of back-to-back knee injuries.”
“Multiple league sources have since indicated to The Athletic that Demko won’t be ready for training camp and preseason games. The club is hopeful that its Vezina Trophy finalist will be available to play on opening night — Oct. 9 against the Calgary Flames — but even that seems to be in question at this late stage of the summer.”
While this obviously isn’t music to the ears of Canucks fans, it doesn’t sound like he’ll miss much — if any — time in the regular season.
Throughout his tenure as the Canucks starting netminder, Demko has struggled to stay healthy. He’s missed games for various injuries each year as a starter, the latest serious enough to hold him out potentially into this season.
He’s displayed to the hockey world with his Vezina runner-up finish last season, but is his body too battered and bruised to be able to handle the full workload of a starting goalie?
It’s clear that the Canucks didn’t feel that way, as they didn’t trade for the young netminder to replace Demko — which should leave Canucks fans at least a little revealed for Demko’s future health.
Now, Askarov.
There’s no question he’s worth trading for. The 22-year-old has been regarded as a top-three goaltending prospect since he was drafted 11th overall in the 2020 NHL draft. And he’s backed that up with solid play in the AHL.
Askarov finished his second season with the Milwaukee Admirals with a 30-11-3 record, a 2.39 goals-against average (GAA) and a .911 save percentage (S%). He would only suit up in two games in the NHL last season, winning his only starting and finishing with a 1.47 GAA and a .943 S%, proving that he’s certainly ready to play in this league.
But was the compensation too rich for the Canucks?
The first-round pick, meh. While the franchise’s prospect pool is certainly not exciting outside of a handful of players, if the Canucks are contenders and have the opportunity to make the team better at the expense of a first-round pick, trade it!
But now, what are suitable David Edstrom and Magnus Chrona equivalents?
According to Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis, here are the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks prospect rankings.
Edstrom comes in at number nine on the Sharks list. However, the Sharks have the deepest quality prospect pool in the league, so that ranking is lower than it should be for the former first-round pick. A more accurate ranking for an average prospect pool would be closer to 4-7.
The best comparable to Edstrom on the Canucks roster might be Aatu Räty (fifth on Ellis’ Canucks prospect rankings). Both are Scandinavian forwards with similar builds; Räty sitting at 6’2″, 187 lbs, Edstrom 6’3″, 190 lbs, and picked just 20 picks apart in their respective NHL drafts. Both players were highly touted, as Edstrom was drafted with the last pick of the first round, and Räty was regarded as one of the top prospects in the 2021 draft.
Magnus Chrona is not ranked on Ellis’ prospect rankings, but the best Canucks comparison might be freshly-signed Jiri Patera. Chrona is a soon-to-be 24-year-old drafted 152nd overall, with nine NHL games under his belt. Patera is a 25-year-old drafted 161st overall with eight NHL games played.
So would Aatu Räty, Jiri Patera, and a top-1o protected 2025 first-round pick be too much for Askarov?
But let alone the Canucks point of view, another factor is whether Askarov wanted to play in Vancouver or not.
The biggest thing he was seeking was guaranteed NHL playing time next season. Was that an option in Vancouver after Arturs Silovs’ playoff performance?
One thing’s for certain: there would be some familiarity with one of the newly appointed Canucks coaches.
After Ian Clark switched his position in the organization to Goaltending Scout, the club promoted American League coach Marko Torenius to be the new Goaltending Coach of the Vancouver Canucks.
The connection between Torenius and Askarov comes from their time together in the KHL with SKA St. Petersburg. Torenius was the goaltending coach for SKA from 2012-2022, coaching the young Askarov from 2019-2022 before both left for North America. Under Torenius’ coaching, Askarov finished with an 8-5-2 record, with a 1.67 GAA and a .928 S%.
It almost seemed like too perfect of a fit, didn’t it?
One of the highest regarded goaltending prospects since Andrei Vasilevskiy requests a trade during the same time his long-term coach gets his first job in the NHL as a Goaltending Coach, with your star, injury-prone goaltender without a timetable for his return, with Trader Jim Rutherford at the helm?
Ultimately, the comparable compensation seems reasonable for the type of player in return. But it wouldn’t necessarily be the best use of asset management. The Canucks are looking to go on another playoff run and will likely need to add to their top-four defence before then. Is trading a top-five prospect along with their 2025 first-round pick for a backup goalie the best way to spend those assets? Probably not.
Even if Demko is to miss significant time, it doesn’t sound like the Canucks are comfortable to roll with two young goaltenders in Silovs and Patera. Would switching a 25-year-old Patera for a 22-year-old Askarov change that? Again, probably not.
What do you think, Canucks fans? With Demko’s timetable still uncertain, would you have wanted the Canucks to have traded for Askarov?
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