The Los Angeles Kings have done a great job repairing their goalie pipeline in the last few seasons, adding Erik Portillo, Hampton Slukynsky and Carter George in the last two years.
In those three prospects, the Kings have at least one NHL goalie and will likely have two. They aren’t in desperate need of a goalie prospect like they were before Portillo was added, but they’re still missing a high-end goalie prospect.
In comes Yaraslov Askorov.
In an unsurprising turn of events, Aksorov is seemingly unhappy that Juuse Sarros has been locked up for the next eight years in Nashville, blocking his path to a starting position.
According to a report by Kevin Weekes, Askorov has informed the Predators he will not be reporting to the AHL and has requested a trade.
Barry Trotz has commented saying he’s aware of the report and fully expects Askorov to report to training camp.
Whether Askorov reports isn’t all that important though, it seems clear that his time in Nashville is running out and Rob Blake should be making calls on the young netminder.
Yes, the Kings have repaired their goalie pipeline, but none of their current goalies are of the same level prospect as Askorov.
Portillo is probably the closest, particularly after a strong showing in the AHL last season, but even he isn’t there.
Askarov is widely considered one of the best goalie prospects in hockey and a future true number one.
The Kings’ other prospects aren’t that. If we compared them to skaters, the Kings’ current prospects all project to be middle-top six forwards, good players who will help your team, but Askarov is a projected 1C.
The kind of prospect that can genuinely change your franchise.
The problem is price. Because the Kings are in a decent spot with their goalies, Blake isn’t going to throw the kitchen sink at Nashville to acquire Askarov, nor should he.
It’s hard to gauge what Nashville will want for Askarov, he’s a former 11th overall pick who looks ready for NHL action now, but Trotz has also lost all of his leverage in this deal.
I’m assuming the Predators would want a goalie back the other way, likely one of George or Slukynsky and LA should be willing to give that up.
I imagine they’d want a draft pick back and LA should be open to moving anything other than a first. The last piece is where it gets tricky, Trotz made it clear this summer that the Predators want to win now so they’d likely want immediate help from this trade.
Jordan Spence would likely be of interest to the Predators but I’d understand if Blake was reluctant to part ways with him.
Of the Kings’ ready young players, I don’t think someone like Alex Turcotte, Akil Thomas, or Arthur Kaliyev move the needle and both Quinton Byfield and Brandt Clarke should be off the table.
The current state of LA’s roster probably makes a trade right now too difficult, but Blake should be making calls and keeping tabs on this situation.
If the Kings are struggling around the deadline, (which might mean new leadership in the front office), and the Predators look like a real playoff threat the trade becomes easier.
The Kings could then offer up some immediate help to the Predators. Players like Phil Danault, Trevor Moore or Vladislav Gavrikov, assuming he waives his NMC, should be on the table.
That’s a hypothetical that requires a lot of things to go right, or wrong, but it’s something the Kings should keep an eye on.
Adding Askarov would immediately give the Kings one of the best goalie pipelines in hockey.
An Askarov-Portillo tandem starting next season would be fantastic for LA.
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