Yaroslav Askarov's on-ice antics reportedly played a role in trade by Nashville Predators

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Cooper Godin
August 24, 2024 (7:55)

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Yaroslav Askarov's on-ice antics reportedly played a role in being traded by the Nashville Predators on Friday.

After a summer full of rumours surrounding Yaroslav Askarov's future with the organization, the Nashville Predators found a trade partner on Friday afternoon, shipping the Russian netminder to the San Jose Sharks for a first-round pick, David Edstrom and Magnus Chrona.

Askarov will now join a San Jose Sharks team that was in desperate need of an elite goaltending prospect and joins an already solid young group of players led by Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith and William Eklund.

Following the completion of the trade, Nashville Predators General Manager Barry Trotz commented on the move and said that a little part of the reason for dealing Yaroslav Askarov was due to his on-ice antics.

One of those examples of Askarov's on-ice antics came during the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs when the Milwaukee Admirals were taking on the Texas Stars. Askarov came out of his crease and levelled an unsuspecting Curtis McKenzie, who is Texas' captain. The puck was nowhere near Askarov and McKenzie at the time, resulting in an interference penalty to the Admirals goaltender.

While Askarov's on-ice antics may have played a role in his trade to San Jose, it certainly wasn't the only reason. Barry Trotz says that they have a good vibe around the team right now and once the news about Askarov's trade request became public, they wanted to get ahead of it and not have it lead to distractions heading into training camp next month.

Trotz also mentioned that the team was looking to add a solid center prospect to their system and it was something he was able to do by acquiring David Edstrom, who was a first-round pick of the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023.

"After I thought about it, when it came out, I really felt that we have such a good vibe on our team in terms of what's going on with our team and organization, I just felt that when it became a little more public, let's get ahead of it," Trotz said. "Keep the good vibe we have going, and the one thing that I was really set on was trying to get a really good center prospect and I think we accomplished that. That was my main focus."

The San Jose Sharks won't face the Nashville Predators until January 21st when they meet in Music City. It'll be interesting to see how the fans treat him upon his return, especially considering he requested a trade from the organization.