What will Yaroslav Askarov’s next contract look like?

The San Jose Sharks have found themselves in many preseason predictions to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2027, and a major reason for that is goaltender Yaroslav Askarov.

The 24-year-old Russian netminder is coming off a 2025-26 campaign that saw him play a career-high 47 games, posting a 21-20-4 record with an .883 save percentage (SV%) and 3.63 goals against average (GAA).

While the numbers may not be flashy, Askarov showed signs of brilliance and is expected to take a major step forward as the team attempts to earn its first playoff berth since 2019.

Askarov is also entering the final year of a two-year, $4-million contract and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season. The 2020 first-round pick is hoping a strong 2026-27 campaign earns him a big pay increase, especially with a rising salary cap that’s benefitted NHL players this summer.

On Monday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton chat with JD Young of Locked On Sharks to discuss Askarov’s future and what his next contract may look like.

Carter Hutton: For the Sharks, obviously they’re putting a lot of faith in Askarov. He is their guy. What are your thoughts on him and the goalie situation in San Jose, and where do they go when you start to think about their future? What does his next contract look like after the upcoming season?

JD Young: Askarov has had a really good offseason program. He got a lot bigger and stronger, and I do think that the wear and tear of a season got to him at the end of 2025-26. One, just the amount of games that he played last year, and two, especially with the defense the Sharks had, he was just shellshocked night in and night out. I think that kind of got to him, when you saw him giving up some soft goals that you definitely wouldn’t want to see.

Coming into training camp and the preseason, he talked about how he attacked his nutrition this offseason and wanted to get bigger and faster. So far in the preseason, he’s looked really good. I liked his game against the Vegas Golden Knights’ A-team. San Jose got off to a poor start, and Askarov kept the Sharks in that game, until their offense finally got going in the third period.

I think it’s a good sign for Askarov, especially going into a contract season. With the other goalies that got paid in the offseason, I look at a three-year, $6-million (average annual value) range, that would be my guess if Askarov has the season we expect him to have. Jakub Dobes of the Montreal Canadiens was in the same market, as well.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…