Porter Stoutheart
Seen Stamkos?
- Jun 14, 2017
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Well, I do think the Saros contract was an unnecessarily generous one, I don't like it at all, for reasons that have nothing whatsoever to do with Askarov.Normally a player of Askarov's caliber would most definitely be more valuable to Nashville than others; however in order for this to be applicable, it would require Nashville being able to use him for themselves instead of for value
That wont be the case in Nashville and, without outright being rude about it, simply is not reasonable nor feasible. Saros is signed until 2033
Therefore Askarov's value is lower to his own team than another team; this was not the case prior to the extension announcement and is why they would have gotten considerably more, had they moved him
A first time GM holding onto a first round goaltending prospect too long for the future, and then signing his own 29yo starter to term for the now, is not that unbelievable. But Barry Trotz most certainly f***ed up
The thing you can't seem to get through your head is that Askarov is JUST A PROSPECT. He is not, and may never be, an NHL player. He may never make the NHL at all. The Preds can't plan their whole roster and future around Askarov any more than they can around Kemell or Wood or any other recent high draft pick. Any of those players might make the NHL, they might bust, they might just be generic or mediocre players who make no tangible contribution above replacement-level... or if we're really lucky maybe one will become a star player one day. MAYBE. But while those future contributions remained undetermined, the team has to move ahead with things in the real world, icing a real lineup, with real NHL players. One day Askarov may enter that conversation. When he does, then maybe his value to the rest of the league will rise to a point where the Preds can get something useful for him in a trade. Today that's not possible, because he's not a player who would help any other team in the league either.
What do you think Askarov's value is to another NHL team today? Maybe a 2nd round pick? Maybe a B-level F or D prospect? It's not Shane Wright or Will Smith, that's for certain. Until he proves himself, he simply doesn't have any significant trade value. Every team in the league has their own goalie prospects. He truly is more valuable to Nashville than he is to any other team in the league. We probably don't have any other goalie in our top-20 prospects list at all. Many other teams have more than 1. Even if Askarov is another 1 or 2 years away from possibly making the NHL, that's still a lot closer than Jatkola, Haider, Milota, or any pick we might make in the next couple drafts. Askarov has a lot of value on our prospect chart, therefore. But you really need to separate that out in your head from his present-tense NHL readiness because his NHL future is still very much an unknown.