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Latest On Yaroslav Askarov

at CDT | by 18 Comments

Since he was drafted 11th overall in 2020, it had been widely expected that Yaroslav Askarov would eventually become the long-term goalie for the Predators.  However, the eight-year, $61.92MM contract extension they handed Juuse Saros earlier this week that runs through the 2033-34 campaign immediately called Askarov’s future with the franchise in question.

In a recent interview with Championat’s Pavel Panyshev, Askarov’s agent Dan Milstein further clouded Askarov’s future with Nashville, stating that he’s working with the club on different options when it comes to the young netminder and that he has proven that he’s an NHL player.

That last part is a bit difficult to agree with considering that Askarov has all of three career NHL appearances under his belt.  While he has fared well in those games with a 2.58 GAA and a .914 SV%, it’s still too small of a definitive sample size to draw any meaningful conclusions from.

Having said that, the 22-year-old had a strong sophomore year at the AHL level, showing he’s progressing well toward becoming the impactful NHL netminder many expect him to be.  Askarov played in 44 games with Milwaukee last season, matching the .911 SV% from his rookie campaign while shaving 30 points off his GAA, bringing it down to 2.39, ranking him fifth league-wide among qualifying netminders.

Askarov remains waiver-exempt for the next two seasons so this is something that, in theory, GM Barry Trotz could simply punt on for the time being, thereby keeping the netminder in the top role with the Admirals.  That timeframe coincides with the length of contract handed to veteran Scott Wedgewood who was brought in as part of their July 1st spending spree so, in theory, Askarov would then move into the second-string role for the 2026-27 campaign.

But Milstein’s comments suggest that they have a different idea in mind, one that will get his client to a regular NHL role much sooner than that.  This isn’t the first time Askarov has been in trade speculation as it was widely reported that he was in play at the 2023 draft in an effort to move up in the first round but no suitable trade came to fruition.

If Trotz does opt to once again look into an Askarov trade, he will have some challenges.  The team is pretty much capped out as a result of their offseason movement so far; they’re at a point where they might be trying to save a few bucks to have a shot at carrying more than a minimum-sized roster.  That will limit them to trading for future assets, either draft picks or prospects.  Speculatively, with the moves they’ve made so far, the latter might be their preferred option, getting someone around Askarov’s age who is close to being NHL-ready and could be called upon when injuries strike.

The moment Saros agreed to his max-term extension, the long-term future of Askarov with the Predators was called into question.  Based on what his agent is suggesting, it might be fair to wonder about his short-term future with them as well.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Spencer Stastney Files For Arbitration

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Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and originally produced by the National Hockey Leaguer Players’ Association, 14 players have elected for salary arbitration this summer. The deadline for team-elected arbitration is tomorrow. Friedman also notes the arbitration hearings will happen between July 20th and August 4th. To add context, not every one of these players will appear for a hearing with their respective teams as they may continue to negotiate on a new contract. However, each player who elects for salary arbitration is now prohibited from negotiating with other teams or signing an offer sheet. Here is a list of the players that have elected for arbitration:

F Beck Malenstyn (Buffalo Sabres)
G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Buffalo Sabres)
F Martin Necas (Carolina Hurricanes)
F Jack Drury (Carolina Hurricanes)
D Jake Christiansen (Columbus Blue Jackets)
G Jet Greaves (Columbus Blue Jackets)
F Kirill Marchenko (Columbus Blue Jackets)
F Joe Veleno (Detroit Red Wings)
D Spencer Stastney (Nashville Predators)
F Oliver Wahlstrom (New York Islanders)
D Ryan Lindgren (New York Rangers)
D Ty Emberson (San Jose Sharks)
D J.J. Moser (Tampa Bay Lightning)
F Connor Dewar (Toronto Maple Leafs)

Nashville Offered More Years To Marchessault Than Vegas

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After forward Jonathan Marchessault signed a five-year, $27.5MM contract with the Nashville Predators at the start of free agency, one of the main questions surrounding his departure from the Vegas Golden Knights is how hard the team tried to retain him. Nick Kieser of 102.5 The Game reports that Vegas offered Marchessault a similar salary but the years offered were well off his expectations.

[SOURCE LINK]

Predators Sign Kieffer Bellows

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The Nashville Predators have signed forward Kieffer Bellows to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775K at the NHL per a team announcement. Bellows will join his fourth organization in as many years as a player heading into his seventh professional season.

Bellows’ prospect pedigree has fallen remarkably considering his selection in the NHL Draft. The New York Islanders drafted Bellows with the 19th overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft and he would only score 11 goals and 25 points over 68 games with the organization. Although extending a lengthy leash to Bellows considering his underwhelming performance with the organization, he was eventually claimed off waivers by the Philadelphia Flyers in October of the 2022-23 season.

The young forward didn’t perform any better upon his change of scenery as he only mustered three goals in 27 games for the Flyers. Since suiting up for Philadelphia in the waning days of the 2022-23 regular season, Bellows has not returned to the ice in an NHL game. Shortly after the start of the 2023-24 NHL season, Bellows signed a professional tryout agreement with the Toronto Marlies without receiving any offers from NHL teams.

Bellows performed very well on his PTO with the Marlies as he scored 27 goals and 49 points in 52 games. Behind finishing fifth on the team in scoring, Bellows has now collected 64 goals and 109 points in 189 games at the AHL level. Because of his strong performances in the minor leagues, the Predators likely pursed Bellows to help their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals.

Minor Free Agent Signings: Central Division

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With over 180 deals signed during the first day of free agency yesterday, some smaller names may have gotten lost in the shuffle. Here’s a list of names that have inked two-way deals with Central Division clubs since the market opened yesterday, per CapFriendly. Some of these may have been included in our main coverage yesterday, while others went under the radar. All contracts carry the league-minimum $775K cap hit unless stated otherwise). Those listed here are likely to begin 2024-25 with each team’s AHL affiliate.

Chicago Blackhawks

none

Colorado Avalanche

F Joel Kiviranta (one year)

Dallas Stars

D Kyle Capobianco (two years)
F Cameron Hughes (one year)
F Kole Lind (one year)

Minnesota Wild

F Travis Boyd (one year)
D Joseph Cecconi (one year)
D Cameron Crotty (one year)
F Brendan Gaunce (two years)
G Troy Grosenick (one year)
F Ben Jones (two years)
F Devin Shore (one year)
F Reese Johnson (one year)

Nashville Predators

D Nick Blankenburg (two years)
F Vinnie Hinostroza (two years)
F Jake Lucchini (two years)
G Matt Murray (one year)

St. Louis Blues

none

Utah Hockey Club

D Kevin Connauton (two years)
F Miko Matikka (three years, $870K entry-level cap hit)

Winnipeg Jets

none

Predators, Juuse Saros Agree To Eight-Year Extension

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July 1: The Predators have indeed signed Saros to his eight-year deal as rumored, per the league.

June 27: The Predators and goaltender Juuse Saros can’t officially reach an agreement on a new deal until Monday.  It appears they’re getting close to having a deal in principle, however, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the two sides are believed to be closing in on an eight-year contract extension.  Financial terms are not known but Friedman adds that the AAV will apparently start with a seven if the deal is finalized; Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic suggests (Twitter link) that the cap charge should check in around $7.74MM.  Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that while some details are being worked out, the framework of the agreement is in place.

The 29-year-old has worked his way from being a little-used backup at the start of his career to one of the NHL’s true workhorse netminders in recent years.  Saros has led the league in appearances in each of the last three years, facing the most shots and making the most saves in both 2022-23 and 2023-24, making him a bargain player with a $5MM AAV which runs through the 2024-25 campaign.

This season, Saros played in 64 games, posting a 2.86 GAA with a .906 SV%, numbers that were the worst of his career.  However, given the workload and the fact that Nashville had several newcomers after shaking up their roster over the summer, it’s not surprising that he got off to somewhat of a quieter start.  However, following the All-Star break, Saros was more effective, putting up a .912 SV% which helped lead the team to a franchise-best 18-game point streak.  That stretch helped propel the Predators into a playoff spot where they were eliminated in the opening round by Vancouver.

Despite his performance in recent years, there was some speculation that Saros could be in play on the trade front this summer.  The team has Yaroslav Askarov in the system, one of the NHL’s best goalie prospects and he’s not too far away from being NHL-ready.  This potential agreement will now call into question Askarov’s long-term future with the franchise although the two netminders could work together for a few years at least, allowing the 22-year-old to ease into the NHL somewhat gradually.  In the meantime, the team is expected to pursue a backup netminder in free agency, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli (Twitter link).

While the Predators generally are hesitant to hand out trade protection in their contracts, GM Barry Trotz indicated earlier this week that if a new deal gets reached, it would have some no-trade provisions in there although it would be limited.

Assuming the price tag comes in around the $7.5MM mark as reported, that will be around $750K lower per season than what Connor Hellebuyck received from Winnipeg back in the fall, a contract that many felt would serve as a direct comparable for negotiations.  Instead, it appears Saros is content to come in a little below that amount to ensure he’ll be sticking around for the long haul, giving the Predators long-term stability at that position in the process.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Predators Re-Sign Alexandre Carrier To Three-Year Deal

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As alluded to yesterday, the Nashville Predators have signed defenseman Alexandre Carrier to a three-year, $11.25MM contract per a team announcement. By retaining Carrier over the next three years, the Predators organization continues its drive to build a contending roster for the 2024-25 NHL season.

It’s a nice bit of security for the 27-year-old, who spent last season on a one-year prove-it deal. Prove it he did, providing serviceable top-four minutes with 20 points and a +7 rating in 73 games.

Carrier won’t ever likely return to the 30-point form while averaging nearly 21 minutes per game that earned him a spattering of Calder Trophy votes a few years back, but he’s certainly an everyday NHLer with some upward mobility in the lineup. He demonstrated that clearly in the playoffs, upping his ice time to over 21 minutes per game in the first round against the Canucks and showcasing solid offensive instincts with a goal and two assists in six games.

Given the price tag ($3.75MM cap hit), the Predators likely expect Carrier to compete for a top-four spot on the right side, likely on a new-look second pairing with Brady Skjei to his left. It would likely result in some more offensive usage for Carrier, who’s been used in shutdown situations at even strength more than you’d think. Over 60% of his zone starts at even strength came in the defensive end last season, a career-high.

He’ll become a UFA upon expiry of his new deal in 2027.

Predators Sign Scott Wedgewood

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Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports the Nashville Predators have agreed to terms with goaltender Scott Wedgewood on a two-year contract. The deal carries an annual cap-hit of $1.5MM, per Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff (Twitter link).

Wedgewood has spent much of his career in the minor leagues, though he’s recently emerged as a capable backup – playing in just one AHL game since the 2020-21 season. That includes a full-time role backing up Jake Oettinger over parts of the last three seasons. That role led Wedgewood to a career-high 32 appearances this season – setting 16 wins and a .899 save percentage in the outings. It was a modest showing – but proved Wedgewood’s ability to show up when called upon, bringing his career totals up to 48 wins, 48 losses, and a .906 save percentage across 130 games. He managed similar totals in his stints in the minor leagues, tallying 94 wins and a .906 through 191 career games. Much of those came between his professional debut in 2012 and his move to the NHL in 2020.

Wedgewood will join the Predators in direct competition with top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov, fighting for the backup spot behind the recently extended Juuse Saros. Whichever goalie loses out will move to the Milwaukee Admirals’ starting role, though even that spot could prove contentious after Troy Grosenick posted 17 wins and a .907 in 30 AHL games last year. Though, as it stands, Saros, Askarov, and Wedgewood are the only goaltenders under contract with the Predators.

Predators Sign Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, Brady Skjei

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The Predators and star free agent forward Steven Stamkos are nearing an agreement on a four-year contract that will be worth $32MM, sources tell Pierre LeBrun of TSN. LeBrun also reports the Predators are close to finalizing a deal with 2023 Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jonathan Marchessault that would pay him around $27.5MM over five years. The respective cap hits would be $8MM for Stamkos and $5.5MM for Marchessault. Nashville keeps their roll going by signing defenseman Brady Skjei to a seven-year, $49MM contract, per LeBrun.

The Predators have become the team of the summer, adding three of the market’s top names in one fail swoop. Their group is headlined by Tampa Bay Lightning legend Stamkos, who’s decided on Nashville in the first trip to free agency of his career. Stamkos has accomplished everything he could have as a Lightning, holding the franchise record in games played, goals, and points – in addition to captaining the team to two Stanley Cups over his decade wearing the team’s ’C’.

Stamkos should immediately become the team’s top option at center next to Filip Forsberg, giving the Predators flexibility in moving Ryan O’Reilly down to the second unit. Not only will the former first-overall pick assist Nashville on their already above-average 3.24 GF/G during the 2023-24 regular season, but he will also help the team increase their 21.56% powerplay percentage. Banking on repeat performances from the rest of the forward core — the Predators are poised to have one of the deadliest offenses in the league next season.

The former captain of the Lightning will not be the only 40-goal scorer Nashville will add to the lineup today. Marchessault was one of the many players to break out in Vegas’ first year of action, scoring 27 goals and 75 points – the latter still a career-high. But Marchessault’s goal-scoring upside held strong, since totaling 192 goals across 514 games with Vegas, including a career-high 42 goals this season. On a five-year contract, the Predators hope Marchessault can continue his recent work of averaging 55-70 points in a season while keeping up his status as a hard-nosed player.

General Manager Barry Trotz was not content with singularly upgrading the team’s offensive prowess as they added Skjei on a long-term contract. Skjei similarly found his stride after a move, emerging as a true top defender with 39, 38, and 47 points across the last three seasons. Skjei averaged nearly 22 minutes of ice time over that stretch while adding strong value to both special teams.

The only reason for skepticism on behalf of Skjei’s contract is how well he will operate outside the Carolina Hurricanes’ system. Nashville deploys a similar system as Carolina but does not bring the same pedigree as a possession-dominant team. Because of this, Skjei’s possession metrics increased dramatically since his time with the New York Rangers, and the Predators should be confident he can add value to the team in this department rather than revert to his previous numbers.

These moves go a long way towards boosting Nashville’s top end, as they find one of the best top-line additions to the market in Stamkos while rounding out their second lines with Marchessault and Skjei. With all three of these deals considered, the Predators still boast $5.846MM in cap space, with two holes on defense. Those could be filled by call-ups Spencer Stastney or Marc Del Gaizo, though, potentially giving Nashville just enough space for one more addition.

Free Agent Rumors: Stamkos, Bennett, Verhaeghe, Stolarz, Ekman-Larsson, Grzelcyk, Martinez

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The Devils are in the market for a top-six forward today, and they may end up as one of the finalists for Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, per ESPN’s Kevin Weekes.

They’ll be one of many teams making Stamkos’ agent’s phone ring off the hook today. TSN’s Bob McKenzie also expects the Ducks, Hurricanes, Predators and Red Wings to make aggressive pushes for the future Hall-of-Fame forward.

A return to Tampa Bay is extremely unlikely for Stamkos, whose 555 career goals and 1,082 games played have all come in a Lightning uniform. They weren’t close to an extension as of last weekend, and their signing of top UFA left winger Jake Guentzel to a seven-year, $63MM deal this morning has all but completely boxed him out.

More from around the Eastern Conference amid an already busy morning:

  • The Panthers are working hard on extensions for forwards Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe as they become eligible to sign at 11 a.m. CT today, sources tell David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. They’ve already gotten one big piece of business done today by keeping Sam Reinhart away from the open market on an eight-year, $69MM deal, but Bennett and Verhaeghe are two crucial pieces of their top-six forward group that remain unsigned past next season. It’s unclear what these deals may look like, but Reinhart taking a considerable discount on market value to remain in South Florida is surely a good indicator that Panthers GM Bill Zito can get them locked into deals that won’t break the bank.
  • TSN’s Darren Dreger adds the Panthers are also trying to re-sign UFA netminder Anthony Stolarz, but they have some competition. The Blackhawks and Maple Leafs are also in the mix for the veteran’s services. While a career backup, he’s one of the best options on the market in a UFA class devoid of starters. He was electric when used in Florida last year, posting a .925 SV% and 2.03 GAA in 27 appearances.
  • After making Chris Tanev’s six-year deal official, expect the Leafs to add another veteran blue liner in Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Dreger says. OEL is coming off a Stanley Cup win in Florida after putting up 32 points in 80 regular-season games, averaging 18:24 per night. He’d likely anchor a third pairing in Toronto on the left side behind Morgan Rielly and Jake McCabe.
  • The Penguins are among the teams linked to defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, The Athletic’s Josh Yohe reports. Grzelcyk is likely on his way out of Boston after spending the entirety of his eight-year, 445-game career there. He had 11 points and a +13 rating in 63 games last season while logging 17:36 per night.
  • Alec Martinez could continue his NHL career with the Blackhawks on a one-year deal, per TSN’s Bob McKenzie. The three-time Cup winner fell down the Golden Knights’ depth chart last year, limited to 55 games due to injuries and healthy scratches. He still managed 17 points, though, his most offense in three years, but had a -2 rating while averaging 19:03 per game.

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