Alexandar Georgiev’s time with the San Jose Sharks is likely to be comparatively transient.
However for nonetheless lengthy he’s with the Sharks, Georgiev will doubtless get a number of alternatives to show he can nonetheless be a full-time NHL goalie.
Georgiev will debut along with his new staff on Thursday night time. The Sharks and Georgiev will face the St. Louis Blues on the Enterprise Middle to complete a six-game, 13-day street journey.
Georgiev, a pending unrestricted free agent, was acquired from Colorado on Monday as a part of the multi-player, multi-draft choose commerce that despatched fellow goalie Mackenzie Blackwood to the Avalanche. Georgiev made his final begin for the Avalanche two days earlier than the commerce, as he stopped 29 of 30 pictures in Colorado’s 2-1 win over the Detroit Purple Wings.
In his final 12 appearances for the Avalanche, Georgiev was 7-3-0 with a .897 save proportion. For the season, he has an 8-7-0 file in 18 video games with a subpar .874 save proportion.
Undoubtedly, he was beneath super scrutiny in Colorado, which hopes to make a deep playoff run and problem for its second Stanley Cup in 4 years.
But when Georgiev can recapture a few of the kind he confirmed earlier in his profession, the Sharks would possibly have the ability to deal him to a different staff earlier than the March 7 commerce deadline. The Avalanche retained 14 p.c of Georgiev’s contract, so his cap hit is $2.924 million.
Georgiev put up principally stable numbers in his first five-plus NHL seasons, going 179-98-64 with a .912 save proportion from 2018 to 2023. The final two seasons have been a battle, as he’s had a middling .892 save proportion, with lower than half of his 81 begins in that point thought-about high quality outings.
Nonetheless, buying Georgiev offers the Sharks an opportunity to let 22-year-old Yaroslav Askarov marinate with the Barracuda for not less than some time longer.
Askarov has been stellar within the AHL to this point this season, as he entered Thursday with an 8-3-1 file and a .946 save proportion in 12 video games. Saturday, within the Barracuda’s 1-0 win over the Coachella Valley Firebirds, Askarov made 36 saves for his third shutout this yr.
“(The trade) just gives us maybe a little bit more time for (Askarov) to play (in the AHL) and keep building on what he’s doing down there,” Sharks basic supervisor Mike Grier mentioned after Monday’s commerce.
“(Georgiev’s) a playoff-tested guy. He’s won a lot of games in this league. For him, it’s an opportunity — he’s playing better now — but maybe get his game back to where he wants it, and in a less pressure filled environment. We’ll kind of see what happens here in the next couple of months after that.”
For now, Georgiev will tandem with Vitek Vanecek, one other pending UFA, because the Sharks attempt to flip issues round earlier than they return to San Jose to start a three-game homestand on Saturday in opposition to the Utah Hockey Membership.
Georgiev and the Sharks are enjoying a Blues staff that’s 5-1-1 since firing Drew Bannister as coach on Nov. 24 after a 9-12-1 begin to the season. They instantly changed him with Jim Montgomery, who had been let go by the Boston Bruins 5 days earlier.
The Sharks are 4-10-4 away from residence this season, a file which features a 3-2 shootout loss in St. Louis on Nov. 21.
Georgiev will attempt to assist the Sharks snap a three-game shedding streak by which they’ve been outscored 14-4. After beating Seattle and Washington to start out the sojourn, the Sharks had been outclassed by Tampa Bay 8-1 and Florida 3-1 final week earlier than shedding to Carolina 3-2 on Tuesday on a late third-period objective by Jalen Chatfield.
Initially Revealed: December 12, 2024 at 12:04 PM PST
