On Friday afternoon the San Jose Sharks found their future #1 goaltender. GM Mike Grier acquired Yaroslav Askarov after the 22-year-old Russian goaltender requested a trade out of Nashville. The pieces that Sharks GM Mike Grier gave up to acquire Askarov may be familiar to fans of the Golden Knights.
Last year on the NHL trade deadline on March 8, 2024 the Golden Knights shocked the hockey world. Just prior to the final buzzer going off at 3PM, the Knights acquired Sharks star center Tomas Hertl. Not only was Hertl injured at the time of the trade, but with having 6 years left on his contract carrying a cap hit of $8.14M most didn’t expect him as a player that could realistically move.
To get the deal done Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon parted with Knights top prospect in David Edstrom, who was just drafted by the team with the 32nd selection in the 2023 draft. Aside from Edstrom, the Knights also parted with their 2025 1st round pick.
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Fast forward to yesterday afternoon. Sharks GM Mike Grier sent Edstrom packing once again, sending the 19-year-old forward to Nashville along with a conditional 2025 1st round pick in exchange for Askarov. The condition of the first round pick is in the event the Golden Knights first-round selection in 2025 is within the top 10, the Sharks will have the choice to either transfer their own first-round pick or Vegas’ to Nashville.
While we will have to wait and see where the Golden Knights’ pick falls at the end of this season, there is a chance that the Sharks will have ended up getting their franchise goaltender with the two main assets used to do so coming from the Golden Knights.
The Golden Knights have built a rivalry with the Sharks over the last few years. The two teams met in the Conference Semi-Finals in 2017-2018 where the Knights took the series in 6 games.
In 2018-2019 the two teams clashed again in a first-round matchup. The Knights had a 3-1 series lead in which the Sharks battled back to force a Game 7. Then in a game most Knights fans want to forget, the Knights let a 3-0 lead get away from them in the deciding Game 7. The game went to OT with Sharks forward Barclay Goodrow scoring the GWG to send the Knights packing.
With the Sharks falling to the bottom of the standings the last few years while the team started a rebuild the rivalry has lost some of its luster. However, with GM Mike Grier adding potential future all-stars in Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Quentin Musty and Sam Dickinson through the NHL draft to go along with young roster players in William Eklund, Fabian Zetterlund and Thomas Bordeleau the Sharks will be a very competitive team once again in the next couple of years.
With Askarov now in place as the teams #1 goalie in the future and possibly as early as this season with help from the Golden Knights, the rivalry could be re-ignited soon.
