In blockbuster trade, Sharks acquire top goalie prospect from Predators

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Sharks acquired what they hope will be their goalie of the future on Friday, trading for top netminding prospect Yaroslav Askarov as part of a massive deal with the Nashville Predators before signing him to a two-year, $4 million contract extension.

In a potential landmark trade, the Sharks sent forward prospect David Edstrom, a 2025 first-round selection that originally belonged to the Vegas Golden Knights, and Barracuda goaltender Magnus Chrona to the Predators for Askarov, a 2025 third-round draft pick, and minor league forward Nolan Burke.

Should the draft pick the Sharks acquired from Vegas earlier this year land in the top-10, San Jose can transfer either its own first-round selection in the 2025 NHL Draft to the Predators or the Vegas selection. The third-round pick San Jose is acquiring from Nashville originally belonged to the Colorado Avalanche.

Askarov’s new contract starts in 2025 and carries a $2 million average annual value, a show of faith by the Sharks that they believe the 22-year-old Russian-born goalie is not far off from becoming a full-time NHL player. Askarov, selected 11th overall by the Predators in 2020, is in the final year of his three-year, entry-level contract.

The 6-foot-4 Askarov was named to the AHL’s Top Prospects team this past season after he went 30-13-1 in 44 appearances for Milwaukee, Nashville’s top farm team. He participated in the AHL All-Star Classic in San Jose earlier this year and finished the season tied for second in the league in wins. He also ranked fifth with a 2.39 goals-against average and was second with six shutouts.

Sharks general manager Mike Grier said he and the Predators had been discussing Askarov “on and off” for about a year, and San Jose’s scouts watched him regularly in the AHL. They liked what they saw.

“It’s a really big day for our franchise, I believe,” Grier added. “To have an opportunity to add (Askarov) to our group is really exciting. It breathes some more positive energy into the group.”

The deal is one of the biggest in Grier’s 25-month tenure as the Sharks’ GM as he tries to shore up the organization’s goaltending for the long term, but it doesn’t come without some risk. Askarov only played in three games with the Predators, and it’s unclear how he would handle the rigors of an entire NHL season.

Askarov went 1-0-0 with a 1.47 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage in two games for Nashville last season. He has a 2.58 goals-against average in three career games and a .914 save percentage.

Askarov also helped Milwaukee reach the Western Conference Finals in 2023 and 2024, going 8-9 with a .897 save percentage in 17 postseason games, although he lost the starters’ net both years.

But Askarov appeared to be blocked out of an NHL job for this season after the Predators signed veteran Juuse Saros to an eight-year extension — that starts in 2025 — earlier this year and brought in veteran Scott Wedgewood on a two-year deal to back him up.

Last week, per a report from ESPN’s Kevin Weekes, the fiery Askarov, believing he is ready to play in the NHL right now, told the Predators he would not report to Milwaukee this season and requested a trade.

That raised questions about Askarov’s maturity and attitude, with Predators GM Barry Trotz saying in June that, “you’re ready when you’re ready, not when your agent says you’re ready, or when management says you’re ready, or the fans or media.”

But Grier said the Sharks goalie braintrust, Evgeni Nabokov, Thomas Speer, and Ryan Miller, “all gave their assessment of what they thought about (Askarov) as a player and a goalie, and we did our own research on the kid, character-wise.”

Asked about the emotional aspect of Askarov’s personality, Grier said, “That’s a non-issue for me. I mean, it’s an emotional sport. It’s a competitive sport. We want guys that compete hard every night, that play with emotion and play with fire. You have to reel it in and kind of harness it in the right way, but I think it’s hard to play any sport at a high level without playing with emotion and fire and he has that competitive drive to be great and win hockey games.”

Contacted by this news organization, Askarov’s agent, Dan Milstein, said his client “is very happy and is looking forward to joining the Sharks.”

The Sharks already had two goalies on their NHL roster in Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek. Grier said he’s not ruling out keeping three goalies to start the season, but through his conversations with Askarov and Milstein, doesn’t foresee a problem if Askarov has to start the season with the Barracuda.

Both Blackwood and Vanecek are entering the final year of their respective contracts and can become unrestricted free agents next summer.

Vanecek came to San Jose from New Jersey in March as part of the trade that sent goalie Kaapo Kahkonen to the Devils. In the spring, Vanecek had surgery for a lower-body injury, but Grier said he believes Vanecek will be able to fully participate in training camp, which begins in less than four weeks.

Regardless, Askarov’s time will come soon enough.

“We’re very confident that he’s going to be a number one,” Grier said. “You don’t have too many chances to add players of this caliber in this position. It’s the hardest position to draft and develop and define, and to be able to get someone like this and add them to our group, we’re really excited.”

Grier and his staff have added a handful of prospect forwards and defensemen to the Sharks’ pipeline in recent years, most notably Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, and Quentin Musty up front and Henry Thrun, Sam Dickinson, and Shakir Mukhamadullin on the back end.

But if Askarov evolves into a No. 1 goalie in the NHL, as the Sharks hope, it would fill a huge organizational void. Besides Blackwood and Vanecek being pending UFA’s, Chrona and fellow Barracuda goalie Georgi Romanov are largely unproven at the NHL level, combining for just 11 games with the Sharks.

“We built some depth with our forward lines and our forward players and our (defense),” Grier said, “and the goalie was kind of a little bit of a missing piece in that age group.”

Chrona, in his first full professional season, played 31 games as a rookie with the Barracuda and went 6-17-6 with a .894 save percentage. He went 1-6-1 with a .859 save percentage in nine games with the Sharks.

The Sharks had acquired Edstrom, 19, and the Golden Knights’ 2025 first-round pick at the trade deadline in March when they sent veteran center Tomas Hertl to Vegas. Edstrom was a first-round choice by Vegas in 2023 and spent the 2023-24 season with Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League. He had also planned to return to Sweden this upcoming year.

Burke, 21, primarily appeared with the Atlanta Gladiators in the ECHL this past season, appearing in 47 games and scoring 15 points (five goals, 10 assists). He played in one game for Milwaukee last season.