SAN JOSE — Assuming he’s healthy, goalie Yaroslav Askarov will likely be on the San Jose Sharks roster at the start of next season, perhaps even as the team’s opening night starter.
After that, who knows?
One of the many areas the Sharks organization needs to shore up this summer is its goaltending depth, as Askarov is currently the only netminder under contract for the 2025-2026 season.
Who will Askarov work with? Are the Sharks open to bringing Alexandar Georgiev back as a veteran to work in tandem with Askarov? Do the Sharks feel Georgi Romanov has earned another contract? Does the team need to bring in someone else altogether?
Romanov can help his case Thursday when the Sharks host the Carolina Hurricanes in the 25-year-old’s first NHL start. Romanov has played in three NHL games, including last Saturday’s appearance against the Washington Capitals, but all have come in a relief role.
Playing the final two periods after Alexandar Georgiev was pulled, Romanov stopped nine of 11 shots in the Sharks’ 5-1 loss.
“There’s been good games, bad games, but I think it has been a good season,” said Romanov, who, in 21 games with the Barracuda this season, went 11-6-3 with a .905 save percentage. “But I can be better and will be better because we still have some games, and I want to show how I can play. I want to show my best game in NHL right now.”
The Sharks will take what they can get.
The Sharks entered Wednesday with a league-worst 3.66 goals against average and a save percentage of .883, tied for 29th in the NHL. If the Sharks hope to make strides next season, those numbers and the team’s overall defensive acuity need to improve.
Taken as a whole, Warsofsky described the Sharks’ goaltending this season as “OK,” and to illustrate the importance of the position, pointed to Tuesday’s game between the Capitals and Red Wings.
With the game tied in the third period, Capitals goalie Logan Thompson made six saves, and the Red Wings allowed three goals on seven shots in a 4-1 Capitals win.
“That’s really the difference of the game, and that’s usually what it comes down to,” Warsofsky said of goaltending. “Consistency from the goaltending position is probably the most important thing that you have on a team, and that’s something every team is striving for.”
Askarov has a lower-body injury and has not played since Feb. 19, but there is some hope he can rejoin Barracuda practices next week. So, at least for now, Romanov, a pending restricted free agent, figures to remain with the Sharks.
“I don’t think about contract right now,” Romanov said. “I need concentration on my practices, on how I work on ice, off ice, how I work, how I play, and I try to concentrate on my target right now, and my target right now is to show my best game, my best version.”
Georgiev has been hot and cold since he arrived in San Jose in December in the trade that sent Mackenzie Blackwood to the Colorado Avalanche. Georgiev, a pending unrestricted free agent, is 5-16-1 with a .875 save percentage in 23 games with the Sharks, but he’s also had eight games where his save percentage has been .909 or greater.
It’s also tough to pin all the Sharks’ struggles on him. Georgiev was pulled after he allowed three goals on 17 shots Saturday, but that decision by Warsofsky had to do more with the skaters’ lackluster play than anything. Still, Georgiev’s advanced metrics are hard to ignore. Per Money Puck, Georgiev, among the 34 goalies who have played at least 30 games this season, is last in both goals saved above expected and goals saved above expected per 60 minutes.
Georgiev’s done it before in his eight-year NHL career, as he entered this week with a 149-105-23 record with a .904 save percentage. Two years ago, he won 40 games with the Colorado Avalanche and finished seventh in Vezina Trophy voting.
After Thursday, the Sharks have 13 games left, and Georgiev figures to get most of the remaining starts. Asked if he feels he needs to prove something to the Sharks, Georgiev said, “I don’t need to prove that. I’ve done that before. I know I can play a lot. I can win a lot. I feel all the teams know that.
“So for me, whatever the coaches want to give, I want to play as many as possible. If I play every game from here on, I would love it. But try to come in every night and give us a good chance and play my best.”
Georgiev, a pending UFA, said he hasn’t talked with his agent about next season. But having just turned 29 last month, he feels his best years are still to come.
“I know the Sharks need a goalie, and so do many other teams as well,” Georgiev said. “Definitely, I enjoy working with (Sharks goalie coach Thomas Speer) a lot. That’s been great for my development. Lots to enjoy here. But we’ll see if the Sharks want me here, and if something works out as well, definitely (like to stay). We’ll see.”
TRANSACTION: The Sharks recalled Jimmy Schuldt from the Barracuda on Wednesday, possibly as insurance. All six defensemen on the Sharks’ roster Tuesday practiced again Wednesday. Schuldt played for the Barracuda on Wednesday afternoon and had three shots on net in San Jose’s 4-0 win over San Diego.