Report: Predators’ Yaroslav Askarov requests trade, will not report to AHL

According to Kevin Weekes, Nashville Predators goaltender Yaroslav Askarov has informed the team he does not plan to report to the American Hockey League’s Milwaukee Admirals, and has requested a trade.

The 22-year-old netminder is a former 2020 first-round pick of the Predators, 11th overall, and is regarded as one of the top goalie prospects currently not a regular in the NHL. Askarov has spent the majority of his North American professional career with the Admirals, where last season he posted an impressive 30-13-1 record, along with a 2.39 goals against average and .911 save percentage.

Askarov aired out his frustration after the Predators re-signed Juuse Saros to an eight-year contract earlier this offseason via social media and once general manager Barry Trotz brought in veteran backup Scott Wedgewood on a multi-year contract, the writing started to appear on the wall. Trotz then made it clear Askarov was headed for the minors to start next season, which obviously didn’t sit well. The Russian netminder has suited up in only three NHL games since being the 11th pick at the 2020 draft, despite back-to-back stellar seasons at the AHL level.

Askarov is signed for the 2024-25 season and does have a $850,000 performance bonus according to PuckPedia, making his NHL AAV $1.77 million. He’ll be a restricted free agent after the 2024-25 season.

There was a lot of noise at the 2024 NHL Draft regarding the future of Askarov and specifically Trotz having interest in a trade for a top-five pick, but unfortunately for the young goaltender, a deal couldn’t be worked out at that time and now reportedly a formal trade request has been made.

With the 2024 offseason winding down, it would make a ton of sense for Trotz to try and get a deal worked out before the start of training camp and limit any distractions. The Predators currently have just over $3 million in cap space, thanks to a recent trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins which saw Cody Glass and two draft picks shipped out in a cost-savings move. Glass is owed $2.5 million in 2024-25.

As for Askarov, he’s reportedly made up his mind, he wants to be an NHL goaltender next season and is willing to move on from the franchise who gave him his first taste of action.