The Sharks acquired arguably the world’s best goaltending prospect in a blockbuster trade with the Nashville Predators on Friday.

Along with goalie Yaraslov Askarov, San Jose also received a 2025 third-round draft pick via the Colardo Avalanche and forward prospect Nolan Burke in exchange for center prospect David Edstrom, a 2025 first-round draft pick (top-10 protected via the Las Vegas Golden Knights), and young netminder Magnus Chrona.

Here are three reasons why I love this trade for the Sharks.

How Good Can Askarov Be?

There’s no doubt that the Sharks paid a pretty price in Edstrom — Vegas’ 2023 first-round selection — and the Golden Knights’ 2025 first.

It’s true that goaltending can be hard to predict.

There’s also a reason why the Predators opted to extend veteran star Juuse Saros for eight years instead of hitching their wagon to 22-year-old Askarov.

But every league source that I’ve spoken with privately about Askarov — at least a half-dozen executives, scouts, and agents — all agree that the 2020 No. 11overall pick is a special talent.

“You don’t have too many chances to add players like this, of this caliber, in this position,” Sharks general manager Mike Grier said.

Mike Grier reveals the Sharks coveted Yaroslav Askarov for a long time before trading for the highly touted prospect 🙌 pic.twitter.com/f1DpIOXjD4

— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) August 24, 2024

There obviously are risks associated with Askarov, the same sources who are high on his puck-stopping ability, do wonder about his hotheadedness.

“He is talented but a loose cannon. Starter potential if he can get more consistent,” an executive told San Jose Hockey Now in July. “He is more worried about the bullshit in the game. Can get him off his game easy. Clotheslined a player in the Texas [AHL playoff] series this year. Got a penalty.”

What’s Askarov’s Ceiling? For Sharks, What’s Fair Trade Offer? (+)

But Grier says that the Sharks, who have been chasing the Russian prospect for at least a year, have done their homework on the youngster’s fieriness and aren’t concerned.

“That’s a non-issue for me. It’s an emotional sport. It’s a competitive sport,” Grier said. “We want guys that compete hard every night, that play with emotion and play with fire. Obviously, you have to reel it in and harness it in the right way.”

Consensus is, Askarov has top-five to top-10 NHL goaltending talent. He has all the tools to be not just a starter, but a star.

“It’s all about him just putting it all together,” Grier said. “We’re very confident that he’s going to be a No. 1.”

A Reasonable Cost?

After a trade, the standard question is, who got the best player in the deal?

In this case, the more apt question is, who got the best prospect?

Obviously, you can’t perfectly predict how good Askarov, Edstrom, or the Golden Knights’ 2025 first-round draft pick will be.

But right now?

It looks like San Jose has acquired a potential top-five, top-10 positional talent in Aksarov for a prospect in Edstrom who’s considered more of a middle-six center in the future and a Vegas pick that appears to be likely headed to the back half of the first round.

So for all of Askarov’s question marks, the Sharks got the best prospect in this deal, and at a reasonable cost.

You never know how prospects will turn out, but there’s reason to believe that the Sharks are acquiring greatness in Askarov at the cost of good in Edstrom and a possible late first-rounder.

For Grier, it’s a smart bet.

Positions of Strength

Grier also shored up an organizational weakness by dealing from positions of strength.

Assessing the Sharks’ system by position, it was clear, no disrespect to Chrona or fellow prospect Georgi Romanov, that they appeared to be missing high-end potential in the crease.

To rectify that, Grier sent out a center in Edstrom and a 2025 first-round draft pick. An affordable cost considering that San Jose boasts arguably the world’s two best center prospects in Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, and their own 2025 first-round pick, which should land higher in the draft than the Golden Knights’.

By top-10 protecting the Vegas selection too — if it falls in the top-10, San Jose can opt to give up their 2025 first instead — the Sharks also are likely to keep the higher of these two first-round draft picks.

Essentially, San Jose could afford to trade a good center prospect in Edstrom and an extra first-round selection for something they didn’t have in Askarov.

Askarov … for Hertl?

Another way to look at this trade? How do you feel about trading Tomáš Hertl for Yaroslav Askarov?

Because that’s essentially what Grier just did.

During the most recent Trade Deadline, San Jose traded veteran star Hertl and 2025 and 2027 third-round draft picks to Vegas for Edstrom and the Golden Knights’ unprotected 2025 first-round draft pick. The Sharks also retained 17 percent of the remaining money on Hertl’s contract, which expires in 2030.

On Friday, the Sharks flipped Edstrom and Vegas’ first for Askarov.

Two years ago, when Hertl was struggling, could you have imagined swapping him and his massive contract basically straight-up for a prospect of Askarov’s caliber?

Re-signing 28-year-old Hertl to an eight-year extension in Mar. 2022 was a mistake for a Sharks organization headed, even if they didn’t know it yet, toward a rebuild.

Grier, who took over as general manager that summer, has now spun gold off that mistake twice, trading up from a beloved Shark who didn’t fit the rebuild to Edstrom and a first-round pick, then those assets to a potential star in Askarov