The San Jose Sharks have made a surprising decision during their training camp. They sent Yaroslav Askarov, their newly acquired goalie, down to the AHL team, the San Jose Barracuda, to start the 2024-25 season. This move is unexpected because they traded quite a bit for him in August: Magnus Chrona, David Edstrom, and Vegas’ first-round pick in 2025.
Even though Askarov is seen as the future main goalie for San Jose, he has been dealing with a lower-body injury since early September. This injury kept him from playing in any preseason games so far. Now with the Barracuda, he can finally get back on the ice and practice on Friday but won’t play against the Bakersfield Condors that night.
Fans might wonder why Askarov was demoted so quickly after such an expensive trade. But it seems like this is more of a temporary step for him to recover fully before joining Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek as part of San Jose’s main goaltending lineup. The team plans to rotate three goalies throughout most of the season once Askarov is healthy enough.
Sharks’ Goalie Strategy:
This move suggests that San Jose sees this time with Barracuda as an extended training camp for Askarov. He can regain his form in a familiar league before making his NHL debut full-time. Meanwhile, Blackwood and Vanecek will hold down the fort until he’s ready.
Some fans might think it’s risky putting such faith in an injured player who hasn’t yet proven himself at this level.
What do you think about this plan? Should they have waited longer?
