Barry Trotz is not too happy as GM of the Nashville Predators right now, specifically with how former goalie Yaroslav Askarov handled the whole trade request issue. Barry Trotz, the GM of the Nashville Predators, always had it in the back of his mind that trading goaltender <a href='https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/analyzing-the-san-jose-sharks-big-trade-for-yaroslav-askarov/' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Yaroslav Askarov</a> might become necessary, especially after recently signing Juuse Saros with an eight-year contract. Yet, Trotz, now stepping into his second year as the team's GM, didn't foresee making that move so quickly. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/AlexDaugherty1/status/1827137174841549081'> </a></blockquote></div> In a Friday interview with The Tennessean, Trotz shared that he'd been quietly discussing a possible trade with Yaroslav Askarov in recent weeks. The idea was to let Askarov continue to grow and mature before any big moves were made. <q>When he asked for the trade request, just privately, he said he would be a good soldier and all that, Trotz said. Then he came out public and said he wouldn't have much interest in that.</q> However, once Yaroslav Askarov's trade request became public, Trotz realized the timeline had to be fast-tracked. Caught off guard by the public reveal of the trade, Barry Trotz knew he had to focus on what was best for the team. <q>We talked about exploring some things, working together to see where this process would go through training camp, Trotz said. But once it became public, it pushed to a different place in terms of the decision time.</q> At that point, Barry Trotz recognized that keeping an unhappy goaltender around the other players of the team could cause more harm than good, especially with the team's ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup. Understanding that the trade needed to happen sooner than planned, Trotz found a solid match with the San Jose Sharks, having been in frequent communication with their GM, Mike Grier, throughout the entire summer. <q>(Grier) and I touch base a lot, Trotz said. Always talking about what you might do with your team, this guy or that guy. Then when the request was made public, the seriousness of our discussions became a little more real.</q> In return for Yaroslav Askarov, the Predators secured a 2025 first-round draft pick, forward prospect David Edstrom, and goalie Magnus Chrona. As part of the deal, Nashville also sent forward Nolan Burke and a third-round pick in 2025 to San Jose. While San Jose emerged as the frontrunner in trade talks, Barry Trotz noted that there were four other teams seriously interested in Yaroslav Askarov, along with a couple more that were in the mix but not as strong. With the clock ticking, Barry Trotz felt that the deal with San Jose was fair and so he pulled the trigger. Source: The Tennessean <a href='https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/nhl/predators/2024/08/23/nashville-predators-trade-yaroslav-askarov-sharks-barry-trotz/74925918007/' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Barry Trotz explains why Yaroslav Askarov's request forced trade sooner than Predators wanted</a>