Sharks land goaltender Askarov from Predators

Yaroslav Askarov, one of the NHL’s top goaltending prospects, was traded Friday to the San Jose Sharks in a move that accelerates one of the league’s most promising rebuilds.

The Sharks received Askarov, forward Nolan Burke and a 2025 third-round pick originally belonging to the Colorado Avalanche from the Nashville Predators in exchange for forward David Edstrom, a 2025 conditional first-round pick belonging to the Vegas Golden Knights and goaltender Magnus Chrona.

Figuring out what the Predators were going to do with Askarov, who was the 11th pick of the 2020 NHL draft, was one of the larger questions facing the franchise this offseason. The Preds re-signed 29-year-old goalie Juuse Saros to an eight-year contract worth $7.74 million annually.

Agreeing to a long-term deal with Saros, who has established himself as one of the NHL’s best and most venerable goalies, created questions about what the Predators would do with the 22-year-old Askarov.

Since the 2019-20 season, only Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck and Tampa Bay‘s Andrei Vasilevskiy have started more games than Saros. Nashville having one of the NHL’s elite goalies meant Askarov played only three NHL games, with most of his performances taking place for the Predators’ AHL affiliate once he arrived in North America from the KHL.

In that time, Askarov used his time in the AHL to prove he was ready for the NHL. He won 26 games in his first season with a 2.69 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage, while his second campaign saw him finish with 30 wins, a 2.39 GAA and a .911 save percentage.

Predators general manager Barry Trotz told The Tennessean on Monday that he expected Askarov to report to training camp in September amid another report that Askarov would not report to their AHL club and had requested a trade.

Days later, Askarov was moved to a Sharks franchise that has made massive strides this summer with their rebuild.

From the 2003-04 to the 2018-19 seasons, the Sharks had only missed the playoffs once for non-lockout-related reasons. Over time, their core got older, and it led to the franchise entering a transition period that saw them miss the playoffs for five straight seasons.

The Sharks finished last season with the worst record in the NHL and one of the worst records in the salary cap era. It led to them entering the NHL draft lottery with the strongest odds of getting the No. 1 pick and placed them in a position to draft Boston University freshman center Macklin Celebrini, the consensus top pick.

Drafting Celebrini and signing him to an entry-level contract came weeks after the Sharks signed Boston College center Will Smith, who went fourth in 2023, to his ELC.

The additions of Celebrini, who won the Hobey Baker Award as the top men’s college player, and Smith, who had 71 points as a freshman, further strengthened a rebuild that has William Eklund, Thomas Bordeleau and Mario Ferraro in the NHL with more help coming.

Askarov’s arrival not only gives San Jose another top prospect, but also a goaltender who has a chance to make the team out of training camp knowing he’ll be competing with Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek for one of the team’s two goalie spots.