Following more than a year of speculation, the San Jose Sharks have finally made a long-anticipated move by trading goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, along with forward Givani Smith and a draft pick, to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for two players and two draft picks.
The Sharks made the deal for many reasons, including a desire to sell high on Blackwood following some stellar recent performances, but also to shore up the team’s future. Now that Blackwood is off the team, the Sharks have a new picture in net and their roster as a whole. Here are three crucial implications of this trade.
Yaroslav Askarov’s Timeline Accelerates
One of the major questions this season is when will highly anticipated goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov become a full-time NHL netminder? San Jose’s acquisition of another goalie in this trade — more on that in a moment — suggests he’s not quite there yet. However, the trade also indicates that it will happen a lot sooner than expected.
Last season, Blackwood appeared to be establishing himself as San Jose’s long-term starter. That changed when management traded for Askarov, with the clear intention of eventually making him their number one. Since then, he has justified the trade by being arguably the best goaltender in the American Hockey League and was mostly superb in two games with the Sharks.
Blackwood continued to play well, but Askarov’s performance made him more tradeable. The trade with Colorado opens up more space for Askarov and solidifies his future role as a number-one goalie rather than as a tandem with Blackwood. Furthermore, with no Blackwood to claim starts, Askarov could have a permanent spot on the roster later this season and could be their main goalie as soon as opening night of next season, neither of which was guaranteed when Blackwood was present.
Georgiev and Vanecek Could Compete For Backup Job
The Blackwood trade included a goalie swap, with Alexandar Georgiev becoming the latest random veteran goalie to join the Sharks, a trend we’ve seen for the last five seasons. Like most of the others, the circumstances of his arrival suggest he will be a stopgap measure, but he should take the opportunity to prove himself. He’s having a difficult campaign, but the trade gives him a chance to reset, particularly by going from a team that expects to contend to a team that doesn’t.
Related: Sharks Relying on Vanecek and Blackwood for Better and for Worse
If Georgiev can return to a level near his peak, he could force the Sharks’ front office to consider him for a spot backing up Askarov. He’ll face competition, however, from Vitek Vanecek. The two are very similar players; they are almost the exact same age and have had inconsistent careers with positive and negative stretches. The coming months will be a chance for the Sharks to evaluate both of them and determine if either has a future in San Jose. But the organization also might not be done making moves, as either could be traded if they play well enough to command interest from other teams.
Nikolai Kovalenko Is Sharks’ Latest Young Forward Reclamation
The most notable player joining the Sharks in the trade is right-winger Nikolai Kovalenko. A sixth-round pick of the Avalanche in 2018, he has spent most of his professional career in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League and made his NHL debut during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. This season, he has eight points in 28 games with Colorado.
Kovalenko brings a lot of positives as a smooth skater with aggression, playmaking ability and a quick shot. In Colorado, he was stuck behind some very talented forwards and wasn’t able to break out or take on a role that best suited his game. The Sharks can give him a chance to stand out more. Since Mike Grier took over as general manager, they’ve taken on a few projects, seeing potential in a young or inexperienced forward and bringing him into what they hope is a relatively low-pressure environment, given their limited playoff hopes. As one might expect, the results have been mixed. For instance, a change of scenery worked very well for Fabian Zetterlund but held mixed results for Filip Zadina.
With Kovalenko yet to take the ice in teal, no one within the Sharks organization can be sure how he’ll fit, but he’ll get plenty of opportunities to make an impact and solidify a spot both in the NHL.
Sharks Take Yet Another Step in Rebuild
The Sharks are showing that a rebuild doesn’t happen quickly, particularly given the difficult position from which they started theirs. But one transaction at a time, they are putting together a team they believe can eventually be among the NHL’s best. This most recent move says a lot about their feelings towards Askarov, Georgiev, Vanecek, Kovalenko and, by extension, the status of their current path. They could very well make more big decisions involving any or all of them, but not before letting the on-ice results determine their next course of action.
