The San Jose Sharks emerged as the winner of the Yaroslav Askarov sweepstakes, acquiring the young netminder from the Nashville Predators for prospect David Edstrom, a 2025 first-round pick via the Vegas Golden Knights (top-10 protected), and Magnus Chrona. The Sharks also received Nolan Burke and a 2025 third-round pick.
Sharks Make a Splash
The Sharks are already set up beautifully for the future. Since his tenure started on July 4, 2022, as the official general manager (GM) in San Jose, Mike Grier has acquired Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Quentin Musty, Igor Chernyshov, Filip Bystedt, Sam Dickinson, Luca Cagnoni, Shakir Mukhamadullin, and now Askarov. All 22 years of age or younger, this core could be elite.
Getting to Askarov specifically, he had back-to-back campaigns with a .911 save percentage (SV%) in the American Hockey League (AHL), contributing to his status as one of the more promising young goaltenders in the game. He is used to significant playing time, appearing in 95 total contests since 2022-23 in both the AHL and NHL combined.
The only real thing to monitor with Askarov at this point is how he adjusts to the NHL full-time. He has been stuck in the AHL due to Juuse Saros’ status as an elite netminder in Nashville. The latter’s eight-year extension in the offseason led to this whole situation in the first place—Askarov never had a path to being an NHL starter. In San Jose, that should become a reality in 2024-25.
The Sharks put up the worst 82-game point total of the salary cap era (47) last season, so going to a rebuilder isn’t ideal right now. It’ll be a process, but there’s a ton of potential here for the individual and the team.
Predators Acquire Possible Trade Assets
After signing Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei in the 2024 offseason, it’s no secret that the Predators’ goal is to win as soon as possible. These veterans could age rather poorly as time moves along, so the idea is that Nashville is a contender trying to win its first Stanley Cup in the next couple of seasons. They weren’t using Askarov anyway, so Chrona is a decent replacement between the pipes.
However, the real meat here comes with Edstrom and the first-round pick. The Sharks basically traded Tomas Hertl for these assets, so that kind of sets the market here. A very good forward or defenseman could be acquired for the Predators to kick their contending era into high gear. That might end up being necessary to compete with the best teams in the Western Conference such as the Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, and Vancouver Canucks in a playoff series.
Nashville already has a great roster, but that next step could be taken here. While it’s always possible that they keep Edstrom, a forward, and the first-round pick for themselves, it seems somewhat counterintuitive. Right now, chances are that they are looking to bolster the lineup perhaps around the trade deadline.
It’s far too early to crown a winner or a loser here, but the Sharks took advantage of a team whose goaltender wanted a bigger opportunity. Considering these circumstances, though, GM Barry Trotz and the Predators didn’t do a half-bad job.