Report: Askarov Had Serious Suitor in Metropolitan Division

The Yaroslav Askarov sweepstakes had a lot of entrants before the San Jose Sharks won out and acquired the top goaltending prospect from the Nashville Predators.

We heard the names of plenty of teams that were supposedly in on trying to trade for Askarov, and now hockey insider Anthony DiMarco of Daily Faceoff tells us that the Philadelphia Flyers were "willing to be competitive" in trade talks with Nashville, but the price it would have cost them was simply too high.

As I mentioned on @Stick2HockeyPod, PHI did have interest in Yaroslav Askarov and were willing to be competitive in the market for him.

The ask from the Nashville did not make sense for the #Flyers to give up.
— Anthony Di Marco (@ADiMarco25) August 26, 2024

"They showed interest in him and we're willing to be competitive in the market," said DiMarco on the Stick2Hockey podcast.

The Flyers lost their starting goaltender from the start of the last season, Carter Hart, who was let go after being embroiled in some serious charges that have been laid in regards to the 2018 Hockey Canada sexual assault case.

They now head into this season with Samuel Ersson and Russian import Ivan Fedotov as their goaltending tandem, but were obviously interested in acquiring a top prospect like Askarov.

But the price that Predators GM Barry Trotz was asking for—a first-round pick plus a recent first-rounder, and more, didn't work for them, according to DiMarco.

"So would you be willing to move off of a Jett Luchanko (2024 1st rounder) or an Oliver Bonk (2023 1st rounder) along with a first-round pick this coming year (2025), in addition to an additional piece?... I just don't think that was a deal that made sense for the Flyers at this time," DiMarco said.

The Predators received David Edstrom, a 2025 conditional first-round pick belonging to the Vegas Golden Knights and goaltender Magnus Chrona from the Sharks in return for the 22-year-old Askarov (a return which DiMarco, incidentally, called "underwhelming.")

Askarov was the 11th overall selection in the 2020 NHL Draft, and is coming off two very strong seasons in the AHL, but feels he is ready to make the leap to the NHL, resulting in a trade request.