Back at the draft, there was some speculation that the Predators were offering up goaltender Yaroslav Askarov in an effort to move up. GM Barry Trotz acknowledged to Paul Skrbina of The Tennessean that he did put the 21-year-old in play back in June, citing a desire to draft (or acquire) an impact young center but obviously, that didn’t come to fruition. It shouldn’t be construed that with him being available then that he’s available now, however. Trotz said there’s no reason in his mind why the team couldn’t carry Juuse Saros and Askarov as a tandem for the long haul. It’s a decision that’s still a couple of years away as Saros has two years left on his deal while Askarov is likely to need a couple more years in the AHL before being NHL-ready.