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Magnus Chrona

Predators Sign Magnus Chrona To Two-Way Extension

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The Predators announced today they’ve signed goaltender Magnus Chrona to a two-way deal to keep him in the organization for the 2025-26 season. It carries the league-minimum cap hit of $775K. Nashville didn’t disclose his minor-league salary.

Chrona, 24, is in his first season with the Predators. Nashville acquired the depth netminder from the Sharks in last August’s Yaroslav Askarov blockbuster to help replace the latter’s minutes with AHL Milwaukee. He’s had a lukewarm showing with the Admirals, posting an 11-11-5 record, .901 SV% and a 2.87 GAA in 29 appearances. Those numbers are disappointing considering he’s been outperformed by 27-year-old Matt Murray (2.21 GAA, .927 SV%) by a wide margin. His career numbers – a 3.19 GAA and .897 SV% in 60 AHL matchups – don’t inspire a ton of confidence either.

Nonetheless, he’ll be back for another season, albeit as a No. 3 option at most. The Swede is in just his second professional season after turning pro with the Sharks out of the University of Denver in the 2023 offseason. He saw some brief NHL action last year, but he understandably fared poorly behind a league-worst San Jose squad. In eight starts and one relief appearance, he logged a 1-6-1 record, a .859 SV%, and a 4.71 GAA. He only managed three quality starts and conceded 7.6 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck.

After trading Askarov, the Preds don’t have any high-end prospects for Chrona to split time with in the minors. Juuse Saros and Justus Annunen remained signed through next season and will presumably return as their NHL duo. Nashville does have 2023 fourth-rounder Juha Jatkola in the system, but his signing rights are set to expire on June 1 if they don’t get him under contract. The 22-year-old had a .886 SV% in 28 games with Liiga’s KalPa this year. Thus, it’s likely they either re-up Murray on a two-way deal or look elsewhere on the free agent market to find a veteran depth netminder to pair with Chrona in Milwaukee next season.

Chrona was coming off his entry-level contract and would have been a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer. The same status now awaits him in 2026.

San Jose Sharks Acquire, Extend Yaroslav Askarov

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The Nashville Predators’ number one goaltending prospect seems to have gotten his wish for a move outside of the Predators organization as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is reporting that the San Jose Sharks are close to acquiring Yaroslav Askarov. According to a press release from Nashville, the Sharks will acquire Askarov, forward Nolan Burke, and Colorado’s third-round pick of the 2025 NHL Draft while sending away forward David Edstrom, goalie Magnus Chrona, and Vegas’ first-round pick in 2025.

It’s a major get for a rebuilding Sharks organization that was missing a true impact talent between the pipes. Over the past few years, San Jose has built up a nice young core of Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Sam Dickinson, Filip Bystedt, and Shakir Mukhamadullin but has since failed to procure a long-term goaltender. With Askarov now in the fold, the Sharks have a 22-year-old goalie who has done nothing but dominate in the American Hockey League over the last two years.

With his entry-level contract set to expire at the end of the 2024-25 campaign, the Sharks moved quickly on an extension for Askarov with his agent Dan Milstein announcing a two-year deal for the young goaltender. Shortly thereafter PuckPedia relayed that Askarov will earn a $1.7MM salary with a $200K signing bonus in 2025-26 and a $2.1MM salary in 2026-27 with an AAV of $2M.

Askarov’s rise to stardom didn’t happen overnight. He was ranked as the highest available European goaltender in the 2020 NHL Draft leading to him being the first one taken off the board with the 11th overall pick by the Predators. In his draft year, Askarov suited up in 18 games for the VHL’s SKA-Neva St. Petersburg where he produced a 12-3-3 record along with a .920 save percentage and 2.45 goals-against average.

The young Russian netminder spent a few more years playing in Russia’s junior league before signing his entry-level contract with Nashville in 2022 and joining the organization for the 2022-23 season. In his rookie season with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL, Askarov put up a 26-16-5 record in 48 contests coupled with a .911 SV% and 2.69 GAA which immediately put him on the map as a legitimate high-end goaltending prospect.

Askarov gave the Predators a decision to make. Over nearly the last two decades, Nashville has had the privilege of high-end goaltending with the organization seamlessly transferring from Pekka Rinne to Juuse Saros. The Predators quickly began receiving trade calls for both Askarov and Saros before signing Saros to an eight-year extension earlier this summer.

Despite the trade chatter, Askarov dominated in the AHL once again this past season with a 30-13-1 record in 44 games with a duplicated save percentage. Despite another year of solid play between the pipes, the Predators signed goalie Scott Wedgewood to serve as Saros’ backup next year, leading to Askarov requesting a trade from the organization.

He may not get the starting minutes right away with the Sharks as the team already deploys Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek as their current options. Given the current competitive status of the team, however, Askarov will have every opportunity to earn the starting minutes down the stretch and could even be the Sharks undisputed starter by season’s end.

Heading back to Nashville is a nearly identical package that the Sharks received for forward Tomas Hertl at this past year’s trade deadline. Edstrom was originally drafted with the 32nd overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft by the Vegas Golden Knights and has been working his way through the SHL with Frölunda HC on loan. The young two-way center brings solid awareness to both sides of the puck and should be a decent middle-six option for the Predators down the road.

Chrona will likely be deployed as a serviceable third-string goaltender for Nashville with a majority of his starts coming with the team’s AHL affiliate in Milwaukee. The University of Denver alum helped the Pioneers to their ninth National Championship in program history during the 2022 Frozen Four tournament. He finished his senior year with a 22-9-0 record in 31 games. Chrona signed with the Sharks as a collegiate free agent and made his debut with the team last year toward the end of the season where he collected one win in nine games on the heels of a .859 SV%.

The first-round pick, also acquired by San Jose in the Hertl trade, will be top-10 protected according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. If the draft choice were to fall in the top 10 of the 2025 NHL Draft, the Sharks would have the option of sending their pick or Vegas’ to Nashville.

Although Edstrom has decent upside as a forward prospect, he may not necessarily have the prospect pedigree that Nashville was originally looking for in exchange for Askarov to start the summer. However, the team still got much better in free agency with the acquisitions of Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei and now have three first-round picks for the 2025 NHL Draft.

Sharks Activate Mackenzie Blackwood, Reassign Magnus Chrona

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The Sharks announced they’ve reassigned rookie netminder Magnus Chrona to AHL San Jose. His weeks-long emergency loan ends because Mackenzie Blackwood is ready to come off injured reserve. As such, their roster size remains at 23, and their cap space increases by Chrona’s $867.5K cap hit.

Chrona has been on the San Jose roster for the last three weeks, except for a brief return to the minors on trade deadline day to make him eligible to play in the AHL down the stretch. The Sharks recalled him under emergency conditions on Feb. 28 when Blackwood landed on IR with what was later revealed to be a groin injury. After getting shelled in his first two NHL appearances earlier this season, Chrona improved over the last few weeks, posting a .891 SV% and a 1-4-1 record in six starts this month. However, his emergency recall meant he must be returned to the minors (or converted to a standard recall) upon Blackwood’s return.

The Sharks will likely keep Chrona in the minors down the stretch while 26-year-old rookie Devin Cooley, picked up from the Sabres in one of the final trades before the March 8 deadline, serves as Blackwood’s backup. Chrona, 23, was initially a fifth-round pick of the Lightning in 2018 but saw his signing rights traded to San Jose in April 2021 for minor-league defenseman Fredrik Claesson. He’s in his first professional season after four seasons with the University of Denver, posting a .892 SV% and 3.51 GAA in 24 games with AHL San Jose and a .940 SV% and 2.94 GAA in two showings with ECHL Wichita. The Swede has one season remaining on his entry-level contract and will be an RFA in 2025.

Blackwood returns after his groin injury sidelined him for all of March to date. He’s had a solid rebound season after the Sharks picked up his signing rights from the Devils in a trade last summer, leading San Jose with 32 starts, a 9-18-3 record, .899 SV%, and 3.48 GAA. He’s also saved 2.6 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck, his first season above expected since his standout rookie season in 2019-20. He signed a two-year, $4.7MM deal with the Sharks just after they failed to issue him a qualifying offer and, like Chrona, will be an RFA in 2025.

Sharks Place Mackenzie Blackwood On Injured Reserve

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3:09 p.m.: Blackwood is expected to miss between seven and 15 days with the injury, Sharks coach David Quinn said Wednesday (via Max Miller of The Hockey News).

12:48 p.m.: Before tomorrow’s game against the Ducks, the Sharks placed goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury. Magnus Chrona was called up from AHL San Jose in a corresponding move to give starter Kaapo Kähkönen his backup for the next few games.

Blackwood will not be available for the Sharks’ weekend back-to-back against the Wild and Stars. He can be activated before Tuesday’s game against Dallas at the earliest, although it’s unclear how much time he’ll miss. He left yesterday’s loss to the Devils in the first period after catching a shot in the midsection from a New Jersey player (video link).

In his first season with the Sharks, Blackwood has posted a 9-18-3 record with one shutout over 32 starts and three relief appearances, recording a .899 SV%. It’s been a nice bounceback season for the 27-year-old, who signed a two-year, $4.7MM deal with the Sharks last summer after they acquired his signing rights from the Devils for a 2023 sixth-round pick.

The 2015 second-round pick has saved 2.6 goals above expected in all situations, per MoneyPuck, his first season in the black since he finished sixth in Calder voting with New Jersey in 2019-20. He’s done so while facing 34.5 shots per 60 minutes, the most of any starter in the league.

Despite starting eight fewer games, Kähkönen has put up slightly better numbers with a .901 SV% and 4.1 goals saved above expected in 28 appearances. Slated for UFA status this summer and carrying a reasonable $2.75MM cap hit, he could be on the move at the deadline as an attractive option for teams looking for more affordable goalie help. If Blackwood will miss extended time past his minimum seven-day IR stint, however, that could dissuade the Sharks from moving Kähkönen unless they can get an NHL-capable goalie to carry them down the stretch.

That’s because the 23-year-old Chrona has struggled in his limited NHL minutes this season, conceding eight goals on just 29 shots across one start and one relief appearance. While still a promising prospect, he’s not ready for the major-league level, and the Sharks would prefer to keep him in the AHL as much as possible.

West Notes: Firkus, Chrona, Korenar

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Currently sitting in second place of Group A in the 2024 World Junior Championships, Hockey Canada announced today that forward Jagger Firkus had been placed on the Team Canada 25-man roster. As one of the most explosive offensive talents in the Major Junior level in all of Canada, it was a surprise to not see Firkus on the initial Team Canada roster entering the tournament.

Originally drafted by the Seattle Kraken in the second round of the 2022 NHL Draft, Firkus will now make his international debut under the Canadian flag. Currently playing for the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League, Firkus has 27 goals and 59 points in 32 games, sitting fourth in the league in scoring.

Overall in his junior career up to this point, Firkus has played in a total of 199 regular season games, all with Moose Jaw, and has scored at an excellent rate with 110 goals and 243 points in total. In the postseason, the Warriors have reached the playoffs in Firkus’ last two seasons, as he has accrued 16 goals and 33 points in 20 games.

Other notes:

  • Beat writer for the San Jose Sharks, Curtis Pashelka, reports that the team opted to send down goaltender Magnus Chrona to their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda, opening up a spot on the 23-man roster. Chrona was able to make the first start of his NHL career only two nights ago against the Edmonton Oilers, having already made his NHL debut on November 4th. Unfortunately, in that start, the Denver University alumni let in four goals on 12 shots in the first period, and would not resume playing the rest of the game.
  • With his contractual rights still owned by the Arizona Coyotes, the team should not be expecting goaltender Josef Korenar back with the organization any time soon. Now in his second season with HC Sparta over in Czechia, the organization announced today that Korenar had signed a three-year extension with the team. This season with HC Sparta, Korenar holds a 10-2-0 record in 12 games, carrying a .914 SV% and a 2.07 GAA.

West Notes: Gavrikov, Chrona, Girard

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The Los Angeles Kings have announced that defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov has been activated off of injured reserve. In addition, defenseman Jacob Moverare has been recalled from the Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. Gavrikov has not played since December 10th, and had been dealing with a lower-body injury.

Gavrikov has played a top-four role in Los Angeles, averaging just under 20 minutes of ice time per night with a regular penalty-killing role. He’s provided the Kings with decent value on the $5.875MM investment they made in him, and if he keeps it up he’ll be in a strong position to hit free agency at the end of 2024-25. Moverare, 25, has skated in 16 games at the AHL level so far this season and five in the NHL.

Some other notes from the Western Conference:

  • The San Jose Sharks have recalled netminder Magnus Chrona from their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. The move was made to give the Sharks an additional goaltender to cover for the fact that regular tandem netminder MacKenzie Blackwood is not feeling well. In a corresponding move, defenseman Jacob MacDonald was placed on injured reserve, which clears the roster spot to be used on Chrona. Chrona, a former NCAA National Champion at the University of Denver, has a .900 save percentage in 11 games in what has been his rookie pro campaign.
  • Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar told the media today (including Guerilla Sports’ Jesse Montano) that defenseman Samuel Girard will not play tonight, but also “hinted” that there is a chance he plays Friday against the St. Louis Blues. Girard returned to skating on December 21st, and is working his way back to game readiness after entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.

San Jose Sharks Send Down Magnus Chrona

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Earlier today, San Jose Sharks beat writer, Curtis Pashelka, reported on the fact that goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen had returned to practice with the team, and could return as early as tomorrow night against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Sharks have seemingly confirmed that to be the case, as they announce goaltender Magnus Chrona has been sent down to their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.

Called up a few days ago to backup Mackenzie Blackwood in the team’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Chrona would actually find himself in the net for much of the game, as Blackwood was pulled a little before halfway through after giving up six goals on 18 shots. Chrona faired a bit better, although not by much, as he was on the hook for four goals on 17 shots against.

It was a rude awakening for a young goaltender who had only come to the organization less than a year ago, signing as a college-free agent out of the University of Denver. Nevertheless, he is not returning to a positive situation in the AHL either, as the Barracuda hold a 2-4-3 record early in the year, with Chrona garnering a .871 SV% and a 4.82 GAA in four games played.

As the Sharks continue to seek out their first win of the year against Philadelphia tomorrow night, they will at least have the benefit of both their regular netminders being able to play. Given that both Kahkonen and Blackwood have allowed six goals in less than 20 shots in each of their most recent starts, it remains to be seen which goaltender will eventually get the nod to start.

San Jose Sharks Recall Magnus Chrona

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After it was reported that regular netminder Kaapo Kahkonen was questionable for tomorrow night’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the San Jose Sharks have officially recalled goaltender Magnus Chrona from their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. In all likelihood, the team will rely on Mackenzie Blackwood to be their starter, but at the very least, Chrona will be making his professional debut at the NHL level.

Chrona will have to make a quick flight to San Jose, as the Barracuda took on the Calgary Wranglers tonight in Alberta, a game in which Chrona started. He has gotten off to a slow start with the Barracuda, posting a 0-3-1 record in four games, garnering a .871 SV% and a 4.82 GAA.

Originally a fifth-round selection of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2018 NHL Draft, Chrona opted to continue his hockey career at the University of Denver, before finally signing as a college free agent with the Sharks towards the end of last season.

Sticking with the Pioneers for the entirety of his four-year NCAA career, Chrona played in a total of 114 games, achieving a 73-34-5 record with a .914 SV% and a 2.20 GAA. Notably, during the 2021-22 NCAA season, Chrona would help lead the University of Denver to the National Championship, beating Minnesota State University, and garnering an all-tournament team nod at the goaltender position.

San Jose Sharks Sign Magnus Chrona

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Another college goaltender has turned pro, as Magnus Chrona signs his two-year entry-level contract. The deal will start in 2023-24, meaning he won’t burn the first season immediately.

Sharks’ general manager Mike Grier released a statement:

Magnus has had an impressive and productive college career with the University of Denver, highlighted by a National Championship in 2022. He brings size and athleticism to the crease, along with a strong compete level. We are happy to have him and excited to watch his game develop.

Chrona, 22, was actually a fifth-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2018, but the Sharks acquired his rights in 2021 in a deal that sent Fredrik Claesson east. The Swedish goaltender played four years at DU, meaning he could have become an unrestricted free agent this summer, had he waited until the middle of August to sign.

Instead, he’ll stay with a Sharks organization that is rather thin at the goaltending position. Veterans James Reimer and Aaron Dell will be unrestricted free agents this summer and seem unlikely candidates to return, while Eetu Makiniemi and Strauss Mann are both scheduled to become RFAs. Kaapo Kahkonen, the only other goalie signed for next season, is coming off his worst statistical season in North America and is also a UFA in 2024.

For a big, athletic goaltender like Chrona, significant playing time could be available in the minor leagues to help him continue his development and grow into a professional netminder. Whether that turns into a valuable NHL asset remains to be seen, but he is certainly worth the low risk of an ELC.

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