Canucks Will Be Forced to Trade Promising Young Goalie With NHL Playoff Experience Due to Waivers
Photo credit: The Hockey Writers
Arturs Silovs has been fantastic for Vancouver in recent times, but after re-signing Thatcher Demko, it appears the Canucks will be forced to trade the 24-year old.
The Vancouver Canucks had potential goaltending issues heading into the 2024/25 season, but heading into next year, they've now got different things to worry about.
After adding Kevin Lankinen just before the season, the team have now extended star and injury prone goaltender Thatcher Demko, and with two proven goalies at the NHL level, that opens up major question marks over the future of standout young net minder Arturs Silovs.
The 24-year old former sixth-round pick has appeared in 19 games for the Canucks over the past three years, as well as a whopping 10 NHL playoff games in 2023-24, and after dominating the Calder Cup Playoffs (and being named post-season MVP, posting a 2.01 GAA and a .931 save percentage in the Canucks run), many believed he could take the step forward in 2025/26.
However, the extension of Demko has made things much murkier, and while the team may be willing to be patient for his development, the same may not be said for the 24-year old, who clearly believes he's ready to be an NHL goaltender right now.
Team President Jim Rutherford addressed this exact situation recently, and in the process, he potentially revealed what the organizations plan is for Silovs moving forward, as he is not waiver exempt.
"We have some very, very good young goalies coming. Right now in our development camp, we've got Young and we've got Medvedev; those two guys are going to be very good NHL goalies someday.
We've got things lined up here. Our plan going forward, right now, is to go with Demko and Lankinen. As well as Silovs played, he could be the odd guy out. He's not waiver exempt anymore. So, we're going to have to deal with that here in the offseason, but we feel very fortunate where we are with goaltenders."
We've got things lined up here. Our plan going forward, right now, is to go with Demko and Lankinen. As well as Silovs played, he could be the odd guy out. He's not waiver exempt anymore. So, we're going to have to deal with that here in the offseason, but we feel very fortunate where we are with goaltenders."
Clearly the team knows that Silovs is the odd man out, and after a fantastic Calder Cup Playoffs run, the time to cash in on him may be now, so don't be shocked if we see him dealt in the very near future.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 12 | 715 ANSWERS Canucks Will Be Forced to Trade Promising Young Goalie With NHL Playoff Experience Due to Waivers Will the Canucks traade Arturs Silovs before the 2026 trade deadline? | ||
| Yes | 542 | 75.8 % |
| No | 173 | 24.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
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