After years of playing backup to All-Star goaltender Juuse Saros on the Nashville Predators, Yaroslav Askarov finally had the opportunity to be the top dog this past season. Two years ago, when the San Jose Sharks traded for Askarov, the team told the young netminder the plan. He’d get his chance. The then-23-year-old (he turned 24 yesterday) got it this season. Supported by capable backup Alex Nedeljkovic, the net belonged to the young rookie and, as expected, the season was filled with some ups and downs.
Askarov’s 2025-26 production
Statistically, Askarov had his worst season to date, except for one very important category, games played. He played 47 games this season, more than tripling the number of games he played last season.
| Games Played | Record | Shutouts | GAA | Save Percentage |
| 47 | 21-20-4 | 0 | 3.63 | .884 |
That said, his goals against average was worse than his 2024-25 season, and so was his save percentage. While these aren’t perfect stats to look at, they are what the league tracks the most.
The positive side of it all is that Askarov finished his official rookie season with a winning record and more than 20 wins, which isn’t bad for a goaltender on a team with a defense that’s in transition.
Askarov struggled at even-strength
That said, Askarov has plenty to work on in the offseason. While he was definitely more reliable for the team shorthanded, his even-strength numbers leave much to be desired. Looking at his performance on the Evolving-Hockey chart below, compared to the team’s even-strength performance, you can see that he struggled to make the stops he should have.
In fact, Askarov had one of the worst goals above replacement among goaltenders who played 50 minutes or more last season. He was seventh worst in the league with a minus-8.2 GAR according to Evolving-Hockey. His Wins Above Replacement (WAR) was minus-1.3, meaning if you were to replace him with another goaltender, you might get 1.3 more wins last season.
All of those numbers would certainly cause concern and if he were an established goaltender in the NHL. However, Askarov is a rookie and he was just 23 years old.
Tested again and again
What’s more, he wasn’t facing easy shots. Askarov didn’t have a defense in front of him to help him out the way some other netminders did. Looking at the Zone Map created by NHL Edge, you can see that Askarov was in the 76th percentile in the league for high-danger shots against.
Looking at the image, he faced 306 high-danger shots this season, with 26 of those shots coming in the crease and 280 of them coming just outside the crease but right in front of the goal.
Having watched enough of the Sharks’ defense this season, you likely know that there was a considerable lack of clearing out people and pucks from in front of the net, making things difficult for players in front of the goaltenders.
While Askarov can certainly get better at even-strength next season, limiting the number of chances that opponents get in front of him would go a long way toward helping him be more successful as well.
Adventures in goaltending
Finally, this first year of goaltending with Askarov has been an absolute adventure. There have been amazing plays that show you the flashes of a brilliant goaltender. This glove save on David Pastrnak was a thing of beauty.
This glove save by Askarov on Pastrnak 😵❌ pic.twitter.com/CFQzXQ7kTF
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 24, 2025
Then there was this scramble in front of the net that shows you that when he’s moving, he can do great reactionary things.
Holy Askarov! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/6TMF90BoSA
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) March 8, 2026
However, those reactionary things can also lead to heart attacks among fans because sometimes, when Askarov reacts, he takes risks that lead to near goals or goals like this one:
Askarov got caught out of position, so he pulled the net down instead of getting back in the crease 😭 pic.twitter.com/LawhJQh4Ll
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) April 12, 2026
At just 24 years old, Askarov is going to learn a thing or two, and certainly a full season in the league has taught him plenty about what he needs to do next, so we’re not concerned yet.
Askarov’s future with the Sharks
Askarov has one more season on a contract that has a $2 million AAV. He’ll be a restricted free agent after that, so the Sharks have the ability to sign him to an extension at any time. We expect General Manager Mike Grier to sign Askarov to another contract, though not a long-term one. Four to five years sounds about right, but we’re not the GM.
As for what happens next season, Askarov will serve as the starting netminder for San Jose, and, if all goes well, he’ll get his first taste of the playoffs in the spring.
Editor’s Note: Over the next few weeks, we will be rolling out the player reviews for the San Jose Sharks. We realize there were a lot of guys rotating into and out of the lineup and some of the key depth players were traded. As a result, Fear the Fin plans to focus on the players who are 1) still with the Sharks and 2) played 20 or more games for San Jose this season.
