The San Jose Sharks have had some rough losses early in the 2025-26 campaign. Once again, this team is off to a winless start. Some of their issues have been related to their goaltending. San Jose turned to rookie Yaroslav Askarov on Friday night as they sought their first win over the Utah Mammoth. Things did not go to plan, and ex-coach John Tortorella was not pleased with what he saw.
Askarov allowed six goals on 34 shots against the Mammoth. Utah was led by Nick Schmaltz, who recorded the second hat trick in franchise history. In the end, Utah earned a 6-3 win over San Jose at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
Tortorella, now working for ESPN, spoke about the issues plaguing the Sharks. As he usually does, the former NHL bench boss did not hesitate to express himself in as blunt a manner as he possibly could. And he did not hold back when talking about the goaltending in San Jose.
“San Jose's put some good minutes into these games, but then they get nailed with the dumbness of some of these plays by the goalie,” he said, via Sharks beat reporter Curtis Pashelka.
Sharks goaltending has not been great in 2025-26
The Sharks had high hopes for the 2025-26 season. And, to be fair, we are only a handful of games into the new year. Unfortunately, San Jose's goaltending has not exactly inspired confidence so far this campaign.
San Jose's season opening game is a glaring example. They had the lead over the Vegas Golden Knights with less than a minute remaining in the game. However, San Jose missed multiple attempts on the empty net. And goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic allowed the tying goal at the other end of the ice.
The game went to overtime, and Nedeljkovic was the center of attention again. He came out near the blueline in an ultra-aggressive attempt to play the puck. But Reilly Smith was able to block his clearance attempt. He got behind Nedeljkovic and scored the easiest goal of his life to win the game.
Since then, San Jose has struggled mightily. The Sharks are the only team in the NHL to allow more than five goals per 60 minutes, according to Evolving Hockey. This statistic does not take into account their loss to the Mammoth on Friday night, either.
The Sharks need to figure something out, and soon. It's early in the season, but persistent goaltending issues can be backbreaking. San Jose has a chance to get back on track on Sunday night when they take on Nedeljkovic's former team, the Pittsburgh Penguins.
