Yaroslav Askarov is now a member of the San Jose Sharks and the owner of a pretty nice contract extension, despite only having three NHL games under his belt. However, before he was dealt to California, the Avalanche were reportedly one of the teams that showed interest in acquiring him.
Here’s what Elliotte Friedman had to say in today’s written edition of 32 Thoughts…
“There was a ton of interest in Yaroslav Askarov: Colorado, Montreal, New Jersey, Utah and, of course, San Jose, which got him. (Probably more.)”
Am I surprised? Not even a little bit.
As I wrote last week, the Avalanche should have been one of the teams calling up Barry Trotz to see what it would take to acquire the talented young goaltender. They’ve spent a lot of assets this summer to try and solidify the goaltending position moving forward, including taking KHL Rookie of The Year Ilya Nabokov with their top selection in the 2024 NHL Draft, but you just never know with the goaltending position. To many, including Elite Prospects, Askarov is the top goaltending prospect in the world.
On top of all that, there are still question marks surrounding Colorado’s goaltending heading into the season. Both Alexandar Georgiev and Justus Annunen should each enter the year with a chip on their shoulder, but the Avalanche don’t exactly have a third option behind them that you really feel comfortable with. And although it’s just a third goaltender, the Avalanche have been forced to use their third goalie quite a bit the last few years. Askarov would have filled that hole and created even more competition in net.
Nonetheless, it wasn’t meant to be. Nashville got a pretty good package in return for the 22 year old goalie, one that was significantly better than I expected them to get. I’m guessing Trotz would have asked for quite a bit from Colorado to send the goalie inside the division.
Colorado showing interest in Askarov is proof that they’re investigating each and every option on the market if they feel it can improve their team now and in the future.