As luck would have it, Christian’s article about the Preds’ offseason went out mere hours before the big trade was announced today. The most sensible thing was to conduct a followup/standalone piece, with Liam and Christian putting their heads together.
Let’s break down the precise terms:
SJS receive:
G Yaroslav Askarov
C Nolan Burke
2025 third round pick (Colorado)
NSH receive:
C David Edstrom
G Magnus Chrona
2025 first round draft pick (VGK, top ten protected*)
San Jose, ironically enough, perhaps did not have the same extreme necessity for goaltending as Los Angeles, but having the top goalie prospect in the world (who has experienced some volatility in Byron Bader’s goaltending model, but has had his goalie score peak at 6.15) in pursuit of building upon an already strong youth contingent (counting prospects, those who will soon be graduating to “rookie” status, and talent that is promising but has some room for growth still) featuring the likes of Will Smith, Macklin Celebrini, Quentin Musty, Kasper Halttunen, William Eklund, and Sam Dickinson can only be a merit. The asset management here by Mike Grier is quite good, considering that he flipped what he acquired for Tomas Hertl, along with Chrona, for a prospect of Askarov’s standing, while getting a mid-round selection and some depth for the Barracuda to complement and round out the deal. While it seems disappointing for Nashville considering the potential, Barry Trotz and co. did alright for themselves considering the historic lack of goaltender return on the market. Chrona floundered a bit at times in his rookie pro season due to inevitable growing pains, the organizational situation, and the long dev trajectory for the position, but he showed some strong flashes of potential and earned a NHL look pretty quickly and his college years at the University of Denver (with whom he won a national title) suggest that he can be a capable backup to Juuse Saros. Edstrom also produced fairly well for a young talent in the SHL with 19 points in 44 games last year, complemented by a +12. He’s got offensive capabilities but his biggest distinguishing trait is his 200-foot game. A viable 3C and a “spin the wheel” for a deep draft class next year complement the Chrona addition (heck, that’s also their third first rounder, which gives them plenty of options in which route they want to take). That’s not bad at all. It also demonstrates just how much they believe in their “win now” mindset and the window that they’re in (it’s worth acknowledging, however, that Askarov had reportedly requested a move out and Trotz declared that tendencies to engage in detrimental on-ice antics were a secondary factor in the decision).
The only thing left to ponder is when the depth surrounding San Jose’s young talent will improve. The young talents that will be in the NHL full time next year are still yet to be complemented by an adequate supporting cast in the lower part of the roster. This was a good step taken by Grier, but there are perhaps other things that require more urgency.
Grades:
SJS: A
NSH: B+
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