The moves continue across the NHL, and their ripple effects quickly impact the AHL.
On Monday afternoon the Colorado Avalanche took another step toward revamping their goaltending situation by acquiring Mackenzie Blackwood, forward Givani Smith and a 2027 fifth-round pick from the San Jose Sharks for goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, forward Nikolai Kovalenko, a 2026 second-round selection, and a 2025 conditional fifth-round draft choice.
The swap is the latest effort by Colorado management to shore up a position that has caused the Avs difficulty all season. They had already brought in Scott Wedgewood from the Nashville Predators on Nov. 30 for back-up Justus Annunen. An earlier addition, Kaapo Kähkönen, had not worked out for the Avs, either, after they had brought him in via waivers from the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 11. Kähkönen made just one appearance with the Avs before eventually going back to the Jets via waivers Nov. 12.
Just two-and-a-half years removed from winning the Stanley Cup, the Avalanche still have a core capable of contending.
So, that’s where Colorado’s goaltending picture stands. And for the Colorado Eagles, they will continue to go with the Trent Minor-Kevin Mandolese tandem. The Eagles went through their own difficult weekend, surrendering 11 goals in a pair of road losses to the Abbotsford Canucks; three of those goals came on the 10 power-play chances that the Eagles yielded in those two defeats.
But what about the Sharks? And the San Jose Barracuda? And Yaroslav Askarov?
Askarov, the centerpiece of the Sharks’ offseason deal with Nashville, is widely view as the NHL club’s future in net. But how far away is that future now? The 2020 NHL Draft’s 11th overall pick had two solid seasons with the Milwaukee Admirals, but he has taken a massive jump forward this season. His latest moment came this past Saturday night when he shut down the visiting Coachella Valley Firebirds with 36 saves in a 1-0 victory. For good measure, Georgi Romanov stepped in the next game and took care of 32 of 33 shots in a 2-1 win as the Barracuda swept one of the Western Conference’s top clubs.
Contract-wise, the Colorado-San Jose deal does not change much for the Sharks. Blackwood and Georgiev both have contracts that expire after this season. So does Vitek Vanecek, the Sharks’ other netminder.
So far, other than a brief recall when Vanecek was out, the Sharks have resisted any temptation to bring up Askarov full-time. But his league-leading .946 save percentage, 1.75 goals-against average (second-best in the AHL), and an 8-3-1 record may test that discipline as the AHL season moves along.
But by keeping Askarov with the Barracuda, Sharks management has a chance to put him through another test. The Barracuda have a hold on second place in the Pacific Division with a 14-6-0-1 record, including a six-game point streak (5-0-0-1). Expectations had risen coming into this season for a Barracuda roster that had undergone significant offseason improvements, and the club’s performance so far has more than matched those hopes.
However, a real trial stands in front of the Barracuda now. They are not taking any opponents by surprise now. Moreover, this week starts a stretch of eight of nine games on the road. Extend the schedule out even more and it’s 11 of 15 games away from home stretching past mid-January. The likes of Abbotsford, Coachella Valley, and Ontario – all teams fighting with the Barracuda for positioning in the Pacific Division’s top half – dot that road schedule.
Rebuilding projects are difficult by nature, and success is far from assured. They can get mired and sidetracked. Draft picks miss. Development stalls. Coaching decisions don’t go as expected. Injuries happen. It’s one thing to plan to be patient, a decision that always comes with the initial decision to undertake a rebuild. It’s another task altogether to actually adhere to that patience, especially when the losses come night after night and stretch across seasons.
2024 San Jose Barracuda vs Coachella Valley Firebirds
Monday’s deal, however, shows that Sharks general manager Mike Grier and his front office are sticking to that plan. They brought in draft picks. They added an NHL-level player on an expiring contract in Georgiev, someone they can evaluate to see if they can put his game back on track. They now have a 25-year-old forward in Kovalenko who will get an expanded role. And they have Askarov with the Barracuda, where he can help to lead that club through what will be a daunting schedule for the next six weeks.
The Sharks remain far from reaching their goal, of course, but they are sticking to their plan.
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