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It isn’t nothing. That’s more or less the takeaway from the Vancouver Canucks’ most recent trade, which sent goaltender Arturs Silovs to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for forward Chase Stillman and a fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Entry Draft. 

The return isn’t exactly overwhelming. Stillman is a former first-round pick (2021), who has mostly played to middling results in the AHL over the last two seasons. The fourth-round pick is fine—not found money by any means, but a decent asset to have. 

Evaluating Silovs is a little more complicated. It’s tempting to just say that goaltending is voodoo. How else does one explain Silovs stepping in for an injured Thatcher Demko during the 2024 playoff run and looking, at times, very good, only to start the 2025 regular season in Demko’s stead and look like he wasn’t at all ready for the NHL?

And, of course, to complicate matters further, Silovs went on a torrid playoff tear for the AHL’s championship-winning Abbotsford Canucks this year, posting a .931 save percentage in 24 games and being named the Calder Cup Playoff MVP. 

The Canucks could have lost Silovs for nothing this year—he’s waiver exempt now, so that means that if the Canucks were to send Silovs down to the minors at any point, he could be claimed by another team. After Demko was re-signed to a massive three-year deal, Silovs’ fate was more or less sealed. 

Given that he’s relatively unproven, and that, at this point in the offseason, most teams have their goaltending situation settled, the return for Silovs makes some sense (even if it’s strange to see a 24-year-old Calder Cup MVP sent out for a mid-round pick and an AHLer). It also makes sense given the trade market currently out there for goalies.

It wasn’t long ago that Daniil Tarasov was considered one of, if not the best, goaltending prospect in the league. But after a tough season in Columbus, the 26-year-old was traded this offseason to the Florida Panthers for a fifth-round pick. That’s it. For a goalie that put up a .908 save percentage in 24 games with Columbus in 2023-24. (Yeah, the Panthers probably made another very nice move there.)

The Penguins might have done well here, too. Goaltending has been a big issue in Pittsburgh for the last couple of years, and if Silovs can show any of his Calder Cup form in the big club next year, it’ll be a huge steal for the Pens. 

Grade: C+

It hurts to lose a still quite young goalie prospect for a middling return. But the market was what it was and Silovs is still unproven. It’s a bit hard to shake just how bad he was at the beginning of the 24-25 season. Still, a nice bet for Pittsburgh and really, based on Silovs’ personality and his work in leading Abbotsford to a title, it’ll be hard not to root for the guy.