Yaroslav Askarov is the future in net for the Nashville Predators it seems, but that may come with some complications. It is not easy to just move on from an elite goaltender like the one the team has in Juuse Saros to give Askarov the room to take over as the number one. This is especially true when Askarov is only 21 years old and has played just three NHL games.
The young netminder has looked very good this season in both the AHL and the NHL in his two appearances for the Predators. But the organization would be jumping way ahead of themselves if they are ready to put all of their trust in someone who isn't a sure fire thing just yet when the team is winning and on the rise.
While Askarov is believed to have a bright future, young goalies are unpredictable and need time to get adjusted to the NHL. Sometimes goalies will struggle at first and other times they will come in and be huge surprises, only to regress until they figure out the league.
The timing for the Predators doesn't necessarily add up great either. The ideal situation would be if Saros had 3-4 years left on his deal to take the team to a place where Askarov could learn the league and earn the number one spot with Saros aging and starting less by the end of that deal. This would have Saros through the rest of his prime on Nashville and likely lead into a rising star in Askarov as Saros is coming down from his high. That isn't the case and makes things tricky.
While the Predators can realistically keep Askarov in the AHL without having to send him through waivers until the 2026-27 season, he will be NHL-ready before that. With Kevin Lankinen's contract ending, there is still the question of if he'll be remaining on the team or sign elsewhere.
Lankinen has been a good backup, but I doubt he will want to potentially be pushed out next season and he will likely want a fair shot at either splitting starts or becoming a number one. With Saros in his prime, that won't happen without an injury, and Saros isn't known to have injury problems or miss time.
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A lot of teams brought in third-string goalies with NHL experience this past offseason and a number of teams have had to utilize these goaltenders. I would guarantee that is the case around the league again this coming offseason, so the Predators should take part in that. If Lankinen wants to re-sign on a one-year deal, that would potentially work, but anything past that is cutting into time in the NHL that Askarov could have. If this is the case and the Predators run it back in 2024-25 with Saros and Lankinen, Askarov once again gets very little time to showcase what he can do with even 20 games in the NHL before Saros' contract situation gets dire.
Askarov is on the level of Dustin Wolf, Jesper Wallstedt, and other young and talented goalies who have proven themselves at all levels below the NHL. The Predators don't have to rush Askarov if they intend on extending Saros.
The best course of action may be to extend Saros long-term and allow the time for Askarov to eventually take over like Saros did with Pekka Rinne. It worked out a few years ago and can work out again. I don't see a win for the Predators where either Saros or Askarov aren't on the team two seasons from now. Askarov has the potential to be at Saros' level eventually and that would also be the ideal situation for the Predators.
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