How long Can The Sharks Barely Survive Askarov's Play To Start The NHL Season?

Oct 25, 2026 2:52 PMPublished Oct 25, 2026 2:52 PMUpdated Oct 25, 2026 3:18 PMThe San Jose Sharks' record to start the year is a little deceiving because the team is outplaying some truly rotten goaltending from Yaroslav Askarov. The young goalie has to figure it out ASAP.But through the first two seasons of his tenure in San Jose, Askarov varied between totally fine (1.7 goals saved above expected in 13 games in 2024-25, according to MoneyPuck) and brutal (18.9 goals below expected in 47 games last season, the third-worst total in the league). Somehow, his start this year has been even worse. Two goals saved below expected in his first five appearances, during which he has a save percentage below .850.His play has picked up in the past two outings, registering a .935 and .953 SP in each of those stats. But for a team with legitimate playoff aspirations, those early numbers are not acceptable. Also, the Sharks have three overtime and shootout wins, which hide the fact that Thursday against the Ottawa Senators marked their first regulation victory of the season, 11 games into the year. Related storiesThat they are hanging around the playoff conversation at this point is a minor miracle, especially because they have some of the worst underlying numbers in the league: 37.21 percent of the expected goals at 5-on-5. Now, that's largely because their offense is generating very little (2.14 expected goals per 60, fourth-worst in the league), but their defense isn't much better (3.39 expected goals against per 60, second-worst). They've also allowed the fourth-most scoring chances against and allow the most high-danger scoring chances in the NHL, according to NaturalStatTrick.Weirdly, their special teams together are running ahead of the league average, but given the overall quality of play, you might expect those numbers to come down.Those special teams are certainly covering up for Askarov's early struggles. The team in front of him isn't exactly putting him in a position to succeed, but he's flubbing even beyond that. The 24-year-old goaltender is in the middle of the pack on high-danger chances, but is the sixth-worst in the department of medium-danger chances, posting a .759 in that area. Maybe that's the sort of thing that sorts itself out over time, but also, maybe a guy who has an .886 save percentage through 67 games with the franchise needs to be better. It's hard to hold poor performance against a goalie on a tanking team, but these Sharks aren't tanking anymore. While Askarov is far from the only problem on the team - anyone besides Macklin Celebrini could get a look - the fact that they're even sitting tied for eighth in the Western Conference feels like smoke and mirrors right now.It's been reported that Sharks GM Mike Grier is a little wary of what it would cost to acquire a goalie because he's not sure the Sharks are ready to be truly competitive. If that's true, then it's probably better for him to keep his powder dry in terms of burning up cap space and trading away assets.The Sharks winning a decent amount despite poor play all around isn't a bad thing at this juncture. This is a young team, and they onboarded a ton of new talent this summer. Take the points and don't ask too many questions, at least at this point in the season. But the longer this continues, the more difficult it will be to keep winning games. And in a division as surprisingly competitive as the Pacific has been to date, things need to change, and fast.In the meantime, a playoff berth has to be the goal for this team, at the very least, and so far, Askarov has been one of the least impressive starting goalies to start this season. If they miss the playoffs because he can't make a save, there will be some serious questions to ask about Askarov's role in it.For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free.