It was hardly a secret in the NHL. After re-signing Thatcher Demko, the Vancouver Canucks made it clear they would move on from a key teammate of Elias Pettersson, who has now joined Sidney Crosby on the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The decision to keep Demko in town implied the Canucks were confident in their goaltending room and wouldn’t promote Arturs Silovs to the NHL lineup, despite his impressive season with the Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL. After hoisting the Calder Cup, Silovs has now been traded to the Penguins, where the young, promising goalie could make an impact right away.
“The Penguins have acquired goaltender Arturs Silovs from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forward Chase Stillman and a 2027 fourth-round pick,” as announced by @penguins on X.
New scenery
The Canucks made their intentions clear after handing Demko a three-year, $25.5M extension which will run through the 2028-29 NHL season. Carrying an annual cap hit of $8.5M, it’s evident Vancouver wasn’t planning on having Demko ride the bench. Therefore, the move spelled bad news for Silovs
Now, the Latvian netminder is entering a new chapter in his NHL career. After being drafted in the sixth round of the 2019 Draft by Vancouver, Silovs is now off to Pittsburgh, where he might take over the starting job right from the get-go.
Low-risk
The trade made much sense for both parties. Vancouver were left with no option but to part ways with the 24-year-old netminder. For Crosby and Pittsburgh adding a goalie to their room was a top-priority, as the organization currently employed only Tristan Jarry and Joel Blomqvist.
With one season remaining on his two-year, $1.7M deal, Silovs represents a low-risk, high-reward gamble for the Penguins. Moreover, Pittsburgh isn’t built to win now, giving the young goalie a chance to gain experience while the team evaluates whether to re-sign the restricted free agent next summer.