The San Jose Sharks have signed goalie Kyle Chauvette to an amateur tryout contract after Yaroslav Askarov sustained a lower-body injury before the team’s morning skate at TD Garden on Thursday.
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said Askarov “tweaked something” Thursday morning as he was warming up at the arena, leaving his status to dress for that night’s game in question. It remained unclear as to whether Askarov would be available to dress for Thursday’s game and back up scheduled starter Alex Nedeljkovic.
Warsofsky said he did not believe Askarov’s injury was serious.
Chauvette, 24, played three years at Union College from 2022-2025, and in his senior season at New Hampshire, went 13-19-1 with a .902 save percentage.
Chauvette, a New Hampshire native, started for UNH in its season-ending 7-3 loss to Northeastern in the quarterfinals of the Hockey East playoffs on Wednesday night.
Askarov started Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres and stopped 20 of 25 shots in a 6-3 Sharks loss. In 40 games this season, Askarov is 19-17-3 with an .886 save percentage.
Nedeljkovic, in 27 games, is 11-9-3 with a .900 save percentage. The Sharks signed him to a two-year, $6 million contract extension last week.
This wouldn’t be the first time this season that the Sharks employed an emergency backup goalie.
In December, with Askarov battling an illness on a road trip, the Sharks signed former Colgate University goalie Justin Kowalkoski to an ATO to back up Nedeljkovic in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Kowalkoski did not play in what became a 4-1 Sharks loss.
The Sharks’ road trip continues with games against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, the Ottawa Senators on Sunday, and the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.