The month of August around the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/nhl-notebook-oilers-offer-sheets-broberg-holloway-johansen-flyers-drama-explained">National Hockey League</a> is usually a great time for media members to kick their feet up and relax before the chaos of training camp kicks off in September and the opening puck drop in October.
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However, the last week has been filled with news of all varieties. Whether it&#8217;s a big-named sniper getting traded, offer sheets extended and not being matched, or a PTO signed, we&#8217;ve been spoiled this August.
Here are some of the newest stories from earlier this week around the league.
<blockquote>Yaroslav Askarov traded to the San Jose Sharks</blockquote>
There&#8217;s a theme today: disgruntled prospects wanting to move on from their current situations and having their wish granted.
We&#8217;ll start with Yaroslav Askarov. Daily Faceoff&#8217;s Frank Seravalli had the full trade details for this massive move.
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Trade details:
To <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sjsharks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#sjsharks</a>: Yaroslav Askarov, Nolan Burke, 2025 3rd Rd Pick
To <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/preds?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#preds</a>: David Edstrom, VGK 2025 1st Rd Pick (Top 10 protected), Magnus Chrona.
Edstrom was 32nd pick in 2023.
Protection info: SJS will have the choice of either their pick or Vegas if in Top 10.
&mdash; Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) <a href="https://twitter.com/frank_seravalli/status/1827076952554901701?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
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This is quite the monster haul for the Predators, considering they had no leverage in this situation. They received a top-10 protected first-round pick from the Vegas Golden Knights, David Edstrom – a former first-round pick – and young goaltender Magnus Chrona.
After a strong season in the American Hockey League with the Milwaukee Admirals, posting a 30-11-6 record with a 2.39 goals against average and a .911 save percentage, Askarov thought he had primed himself for the backup goal in the NHL next season. And if all broke right for him, hopes of taking over the starters crease shortly then after.
However, once the Predators extended Juuse Saros to an eight-year $61.92 million contract extension and signed Scott Wedgewood to a two-year $3 million deal, Askarov saw no room to move up and requested a trade. The 22-year-old Russian goaltender didn&#8217;t have to wait too long before multiple suitors emerged and a trade was made.
It&#8217;s too early to pick winners and losers, but the Sharks just nabbed their goaltender of the future and one of the best goalie prospects in all of hockey, to boot. Unfortunately for Canucks fans, Askarov is now in the division, along with Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. The future looks bright in San Jose.
<blockquote>Rutger McGroarty traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins</blockquote>
Here is another disgruntled young player who got his wish on Thursday morning when the Winnipeg Jets traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for prospect Brayden Yager. It is a classic stand-up hockey trade, one-for-one.
The value couldn&#8217;t be more fair. It was a swap of the 2022 14th-overall pick (McGroarty) for the 2023 14th-overall pick (Yager). However, both players have different playing styles once they make their NHL debut.
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HUGE hit by Rutger McGroarty 😳<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldJuniors?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldJuniors</a> <a href="https://t.co/Mflk7OpKx9">pic.twitter.com/Mflk7OpKx9</a>
&mdash; TSN (@TSN_Sports) <a href="https://twitter.com/TSN_Sports/status/1743361807291433093?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2024</a></blockquote>
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McGroarty, 20, projects to be an antagonizing power forward who&#8217;s not afraid to enter the gritty areas or stand up for a teammate at the next level. The Lincoln, Nebraska native has displayed his leadership role from a young age, as he&#8217;s captained teams from his Oakland Jr. Grizzlies 15U AAA all the way to the USA U18 and U20 teams at the World Junior Championships.
His game isn&#8217;t all about the rough stuff, however. McGroarty is a player who can show off his skill with goal-scoring and playmaking ability. Last season, <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/canucks-captain-quinn-hughes-brothers-history-ea-sports-nhl-25-cover-athletes">he played 36 games for the Michigan Wolverines</a>, where he tallied 16 goals and 36 assists for 52 points with a plus-17 rating. McGroarty intended on playing a third year with the Wolverines; however, once the trade, he inked a three-year entry-level deal with the Penguins.
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Welcome to Pittsburgh! ✍️
The Penguins have signed Rutger McGroarty to a three-year, Entry-Level Contract. <a href="https://t.co/lpACZ7dB0e">pic.twitter.com/lpACZ7dB0e</a>
&mdash; Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) <a href="https://twitter.com/penguins/status/1826738282098511940?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Want to know more about McGroarty&#8217;s game? Here is how EliteProspects described him in their 2022 Draft Guide.
&#8220;Where most players outrace, he delays with a cutback or simply entering a glide and angling away from backpressure. Those delays house his playmaking, where he’s deceptive, precise, and identifying the best play. Uses give-and-gos instead of deking, and consistently occupies the space that maximizes his odds of getting the puck back. He’s a bull, too. Relentlessly attacks the inside, combining skill and physicality.&#8221;
On the other hand, we&#8217;ve got Brayden Yager, who&#8217;s no slouch himself.
Yager, 19, is a much more one-dimensional player, but he excels in that one area. He&#8217;s a sniper. Plain and simple. His shot is dangerous, and he&#8217;s known how to put the puck in the back of the net throughout junior hockey.
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YAGER BOMB 💣 <a href="https://t.co/koXiJXdfL5">pic.twitter.com/koXiJXdfL5</a>
&mdash; Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) <a href="https://twitter.com/NHLJets/status/1826695720633569315?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Last season with the Moose Jaw Warriors was the cherry on top of a four-year stint for Yager. He played 57 games, scoring 35 goals and 65 assists for 90 points in the regular season, and his 11 goals and 27 points in the playoffs helped lead Moose Jaw to a Memorial Cup run. Unfortunately for Yager and the Warriors, they were eliminated in the semi-final game against the host city and eventual champions, Saginaw Spirit.
Want to know more about Yager&#8217;s game? Here is how EliteProspects described him in their 2022 Draft Guide.
&#8220;The puck absolutely explodes off his stick, no matter how compromised his body positioning appears to be during release. He rips it off either leg in just about way: two-touch, one-timer, and catch-and-release. His inside leg wrister is his signature shot, tipping his weight over his outside edge while somehow keeping his chest up and exploding through the shot. He takes every single puck directly into his shooting pocket, prepared for the next play.&#8221;
Winnipeg&#8217;s hands were tied after McGroarty&#8217;s displeasure with the team was made public. However, for General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff to remain patient despite the wishes of his young forward and wait to find a trade he was comfortable with was excellent work.
Not to mention, the Jets have a hard time finding players who want to play in Winnipeg. So trading for a guy who grew up not far in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, could hold more value with a player who wants to stay there.
<blockquote>Matty Beniers inks a seven-year contract extension with the Seattle Kraken</blockquote>
The Seattle Kraken had one big piece of business this offseason: to retain their future franchise centre, Matty Beniers. It took a little longer than expected, but they were finally able to agree on a contract late in August.
The Kraken signed Beniers to a seven-year, $49.98 million contract, paying him $7.14 million annually.
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CHEERS FOR BENIERS!!!! 🙌
We’ve agreed to terms with forward Matty Beniers on a seven-year contract with 7.14M AAV. <a href="https://t.co/Zi5XZhWWwH">pic.twitter.com/Zi5XZhWWwH</a>
&mdash; Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) <a href="https://twitter.com/SeattleKraken/status/1825981735735001473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 20, 2024</a></blockquote>
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It was fairly clear from his NHL debut that Beniers would be an impactful player in this league. After joining the Seattle Kraken for the final 10 games of the 2021-2022 season, Beniers scored three goals and nine points. But his impressing didn&#8217;t stop there.
He carried over his success into his true rookie season, where he scored 24 goals and 33 assists for 57 points in 80 games, earning him the Calder Trophy for the league&#8217;s top rookie. However, last season was a perfect definition of a sophomore slump. Beniers would score just 15 goals, and 22 assists for 37 points in 77 games with a minus-11 rating.
While those numbers are definitely a letdown, his individual analytical numbers between the two seasons remained very similar.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-130054 size-full" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/08/Pic.png" alt="" width="405" height="64" srcset="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/08/Pic.png 405w, https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/08/Pic-300x47.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 405px) 100vw, 405px" />
So, while it looked like Beniers heavily regressed statistically, he was still creating shots and scoring chances at the same rate.
We&#8217;ll see what Beniers we get from the Kraken this season as one of Vancouver&#8217;s biggest rivals, but one thing is for certain: if he continues to produce this level of scoring chances, that contract has the potential to age like fine wine over the next seven seasons.
<blockquote>Former Vancouver Canuck Tanner Pearson signs a PTO with the Vegas Golden Knights</blockquote>
It&#8217;s PTO season, and the Vegas Golden Knights have dipped their toes in the water. The Golden Knights have signed <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/dhaliwal-canucks-continue-look-goalie-lankinen-target">former Canuck forward Tanner Pearson</a> to a professional tryout.
The Canucks traded Pearson, along with a 2025 third-round pick to the Montreal Canadiens at the start of last season&#8217;s training camp in exchange for goaltender Casey DeSmith. Pearson spent five seasons as a member of the Canucks, scoring 55 goals and 59 assists for 114 points in 221 games. Last season for the Canadiens, Pearson scored five goals and eight assists for 13 points in 54 games.
It was a brutal end for his time in Vancouver. <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/report-canucks-tanner-pearson-five-surgeries-next-season-doubt">A hand injury that was supposed to keep Pearson out for four weeks</a> was mishandled and ended up sidelining him from November 9th, 2022, to October 12th, 2023. It&#8217;s nice to see Pearson back on his feet and given another chance to showcase his NHL skill, this time with the Vegas Golden Knights.
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The month of August around the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/nhl-notebook-oilers-offer-sheets-broberg-holloway-johansen-flyers-drama-explained">National Hockey League</a> is usually a great time for media members to kick their feet up and relax before the chaos of training camp kicks off in September and the opening puck drop in October.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2111" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="329"></div>
&nbsp;

However, the last week has been filled with news of all varieties. Whether it's a big-named sniper getting traded, offer sheets extended and not being matched, or a PTO signed, we've been spoiled this August.

Here are some of the newest stories from earlier this week around the league.
<blockquote>Yaroslav Askarov traded to the San Jose Sharks</blockquote>
There's a theme today: disgruntled prospects wanting to move on from their current situations and having their wish granted.

We'll start with Yaroslav Askarov. Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli had the full trade details for this massive move.

https://twitter.com/frank_seravalli/status/1827076952554901701

This is quite the monster haul for the Predators, considering they had no leverage in this situation. They received a top-10 protected first-round pick from the Vegas Golden Knights, David Edstrom – a former first-round pick – and young goaltender Magnus Chrona.

After a strong season in the American Hockey League with the Milwaukee Admirals, posting a 30-11-6 record with a 2.39 goals against average and a .911 save percentage, Askarov thought he had primed himself for the backup goal in the NHL next season. And if all broke right for him, hopes of taking over the starters crease shortly then after.

However, once the Predators extended Juuse Saros to an eight-year $61.92 million contract extension and signed Scott Wedgewood to a two-year $3 million deal, Askarov saw no room to move up and requested a trade. The 22-year-old Russian goaltender didn't have to wait too long before multiple suitors emerged and a trade was made.

It's too early to pick winners and losers, but the Sharks just nabbed their goaltender of the future and one of the best goalie prospects in all of hockey, to boot. Unfortunately for Canucks fans, Askarov is now in the division, along with Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. The future looks bright in San Jose.
<blockquote>Rutger McGroarty traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins</blockquote>
Here is another disgruntled young player who got his wish on Thursday morning when the Winnipeg Jets traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for prospect Brayden Yager. It is a classic stand-up hockey trade, one-for-one.

The value couldn't be more fair. It was a swap of the 2022 14th-overall pick (McGroarty) for the 2023 14th-overall pick (Yager). However, both players have different playing styles once they make their NHL debut.

https://twitter.com/TSN_Sports/status/1743361807291433093

McGroarty, 20, projects to be an antagonizing power forward who's not afraid to enter the gritty areas or stand up for a teammate at the next level. The Lincoln, Nebraska native has displayed his leadership role from a young age, as he's captained teams from his Oakland Jr. Grizzlies 15U AAA all the way to the USA U18 and U20 teams at the World Junior Championships.

His game isn't all about the rough stuff, however. McGroarty is a player who can show off his skill with goal-scoring and playmaking ability. Last season, <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/canucks-captain-quinn-hughes-brothers-history-ea-sports-nhl-25-cover-athletes">he played 36 games for the Michigan Wolverines</a>, where he tallied 16 goals and 36 assists for 52 points with a plus-17 rating. McGroarty intended on playing a third year with the Wolverines; however, once the trade, he inked a three-year entry-level deal with the Penguins.

https://twitter.com/penguins/status/1826738282098511940

Want to know more about McGroarty's game? Here is how EliteProspects described him in their 2022 Draft Guide.

"Where most players outrace, he delays with a cutback or simply entering a glide and angling away from backpressure. Those delays house his playmaking, where he’s deceptive, precise, and identifying the best play. Uses give-and-gos instead of deking, and consistently occupies the space that maximizes his odds of getting the puck back. He’s a bull, too. Relentlessly attacks the inside, combining skill and physicality."

On the other hand, we've got Brayden Yager, who's no slouch himself.

Yager, 19, is a much more one-dimensional player, but he excels in that one area. He's a sniper. Plain and simple. His shot is dangerous, and he's known how to put the puck in the back of the net throughout junior hockey.

https://twitter.com/NHLJets/status/1826695720633569315

Last season with the Moose Jaw Warriors was the cherry on top of a four-year stint for Yager. He played 57 games, scoring 35 goals and 65 assists for 90 points in the regular season, and his 11 goals and 27 points in the playoffs helped lead Moose Jaw to a Memorial Cup run. Unfortunately for Yager and the Warriors, they were eliminated in the semi-final game against the host city and eventual champions, Saginaw Spirit.

Want to know more about Yager's game? Here is how EliteProspects described him in their 2022 Draft Guide.

"The puck absolutely explodes off his stick, no matter how compromised his body positioning appears to be during release. He rips it off either leg in just about way: two-touch, one-timer, and catch-and-release. His inside leg wrister is his signature shot, tipping his weight over his outside edge while somehow keeping his chest up and exploding through the shot. He takes every single puck directly into his shooting pocket, prepared for the next play."

Winnipeg's hands were tied after McGroarty's displeasure with the team was made public. However, for General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff to remain patient despite the wishes of his young forward and wait to find a trade he was comfortable with was excellent work.

Not to mention, the Jets have a hard time finding players who want to play in Winnipeg. So trading for a guy who grew up not far in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, could hold more value with a player who wants to stay there.
<blockquote>Matty Beniers inks a seven-year contract extension with the Seattle Kraken</blockquote>
The Seattle Kraken had one big piece of business this offseason: to retain their future franchise centre, Matty Beniers. It took a little longer than expected, but they were finally able to agree on a contract late in August.

The Kraken signed Beniers to a seven-year, $49.98 million contract, paying him $7.14 million annually.

https://twitter.com/SeattleKraken/status/1825981735735001473

It was fairly clear from his NHL debut that Beniers would be an impactful player in this league. After joining the Seattle Kraken for the final 10 games of the 2021-2022 season, Beniers scored three goals and nine points. But his impressing didn't stop there.

He carried over his success into his true rookie season, where he scored 24 goals and 33 assists for 57 points in 80 games, earning him the Calder Trophy for the league's top rookie. However, last season was a perfect definition of a sophomore slump. Beniers would score just 15 goals, and 22 assists for 37 points in 77 games with a minus-11 rating.

While those numbers are definitely a letdown, his individual analytical numbers between the two seasons remained very similar.

<img class="alignnone wp-image-130054 size-full" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/08/Pic.png" alt="" width="405" height="64" />

So, while it looked like Beniers heavily regressed statistically, he was still creating shots and scoring chances at the same rate.

We'll see what Beniers we get from the Kraken this season as one of Vancouver's biggest rivals, but one thing is for certain: if he continues to produce this level of scoring chances, that contract has the potential to age like fine wine over the next seven seasons.
<blockquote>Former Vancouver Canuck Tanner Pearson signs a PTO with the Vegas Golden Knights</blockquote>
It's PTO season, and the Vegas Golden Knights have dipped their toes in the water. The Golden Knights have signed <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/dhaliwal-canucks-continue-look-goalie-lankinen-target">former Canuck forward Tanner Pearson</a> to a professional tryout.

The Canucks traded Pearson, along with a 2025 third-round pick to the Montreal Canadiens at the start of last season's training camp in exchange for goaltender Casey DeSmith. Pearson spent five seasons as a member of the Canucks, scoring 55 goals and 59 assists for 114 points in 221 games. Last season for the Canadiens, Pearson scored five goals and eight assists for 13 points in 54 games.

It was a brutal end for his time in Vancouver. <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/report-canucks-tanner-pearson-five-surgeries-next-season-doubt">A hand injury that was supposed to keep Pearson out for four weeks</a> was mishandled and ended up sidelining him from November 9th, 2022, to October 12th, 2023. It's nice to see Pearson back on his feet and given another chance to showcase his NHL skill, this time with the Vegas Golden Knights.

Sponsored by bet365!
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NHL Notebook: 3 massive prospects traded, Kraken lock up Matty Beniers for seven-years, and more

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