A value trade highlighted Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas’s Sunday.

A couple of weeks after trading goalie Alex Nedeljkovic to the San Jose Sharks, leaving just one experienced NHL goalie on the roster, Dubas swung the trade to add legitimate goaltending depth.

The Penguins trade added Vancouver Canucks goalie Arturs Silovs, in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round pick and Chase Stillman, who was acquired from the New Jersey Devils in the Cody Glass trade. Stillman had only three points in 19 AHL games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penugins following the trade.

Silovs, 24, was the odd-man out in Vancouver, as he is not waiver-exempt this fall, and the Canucks signed goalies Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lahkonen to longer contracts.

Silovs is a big goalie, at 6-foot-4, 203 pounds, from Riga, Latvia. He rose to prominence in the 2023-24 playoffs when the young goalie took the Canucks’ net, leading to a comeback series win over the Nashville Predators and pushing the Edmonton Oilers to a Game 7 in Round Two.

Last season, Silovs played only 10 NHL games, posting a paltry .861 save percentage and a 2-6-1 record. In his three-year professional career, Silovs has played in 19 regular-season games with an .880 save percentage. However, Silovs backstopped the Abbotsford Canucks to the Calder Cup championship.

The Penguins currently have Tristan Jarry, Silovs, Joel Blomqvist, Sergei Murashov, and Filip Larsson as their organization’s goaltending depth chart.

Trade Analysis

This is an A+ trade for Dubas and the Penguins. They’ve risked nothing and may get an NHL goalie. Stillman was a 2021 first-round pick by New Jersey, but has done little to force his way to the NHL. He’s an AHL depth player and a fourth-round pick amongst the treasure trove of draft picks over the next three years.

Silovs is young enough to keep improving upon his subpar regular-season performances. He’s just a year older than Blomqvist, who also struggled mightily in NHL action this season.

The deal gives the Penguins more insurance against Blomqvist not being ready, and gives Blomqvist some competition for the backup position.

In a goaltending-starved league in which some teams are desperately looking for help, the move might give Dubas another trade chip if both Silovs and Blomqvist prove worthy for an NHL net.