Arturs Silovs

July 2025 – Silovs was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins by the Vancouver Canucks on July 13, 2025, for Chase Stillman and a fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.

With Thatcher Demko extending on July 1, 2025, to a three-year contract extension worth $25.5 million, and Kevin Lankinen locked in long term after signing a five-year, $22.5 million contract extension in February 2025. Silovs was the odd man out in Vancouver. The trade to Pittsburgh opens up a massive opportunity for the goaltender from Latvia, who has shown significant improvement every season in the Canucks organization.

The door is wide open for one of their goaltenders to take the starting role and run with it in Pittsburgh. Tristan Jarry, despite being locked into a contract for another three years with a $5.375 million cap hit, spent part of the 2024-25 season in the minors. The Penguins have Joel Blomqvist and Sergei Murashov in the system, but Silovs’ recent play should give him an edge on both those players, maybe even Jarry. If you’re looking for a goalie in 2025-26 that could break out, look no further than Arturs Silovs.

If you own him in a dynasty league, keep him. If you have a league mate who isn’t following the off-season closely, consider taking this opportunity to get Silovs. He should be owned in all dynasty formats and should be followed closely during training camp this fall. If he establishes himself early in the 2025-26 season as a go-to option between the pipes with the Penguins, he could have season-long value in all fantasy leagues. Mark Henry

June 2025 – It seems high-pressure games are Silovs’ calling, being named the 2025 AHL Calder Cup Playoffs MVP while backstopping the Abbotsford Canucks to the Calder Cup title. With five shutouts in 24 games during the playoffs (20% of his starts were shutouts, which is mindblowing even for the AHL level), he was one shutout away from the record for shutouts in a single postseason in the AHL. Those are impressive numbers for a 24-year-old netminder, and it’s easy to see his floor as a 1B in Vancouver if Demko or Lankinen are either injured or traded. On the international stage, he’s become the go-to starting goalie for the Latvian National team after strong showings in 2022 & 2023 at the IIHF World Hockey Championships. He has now been named to the Latvian preliminary roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Ioan Gheordanescu

January 2025 – Make no mistake, Silovs was the key reason that Vancouver made it to game seven of the second round. But coming into 2024-25, Silovs hasn’t been able to replicate that same magic in the NHL net. He’s started seven games in both Vancouver and Abbotsford and posted drastically different performances. In the NHL, his save percentage is down to .847, while in Abbotsford, it’s up at .914. The biggest issue when he was in Vancouver was the lack of rebound control. Silovs was leaky, and opponents crashing the net capitalized. Silovs showed flashes of brilliance in the playoffs, so he should just need some more time in the AHL to fine-tune his game. If any injury happens in the NHL, Silovs is sure to be the first goaltender called up to replace them. Nick Orr

March 2024 – After dominating in 33 games in the AHL this season, the Canucks have recalled Silvos to serve as the backup to Casey DeSmith while Thatcher Demko is injured. This probably will not make a significant difference for him this season, as he is likely to return to the minors when Demko returns. If he performs well, this could be a great stepping stone for a role in the NHL next season. Cedrick Blais-Turcotte

May 2023 – If the up-and-coming netminder was still laying on your free agents list on Fantrax/Yahoo, it may be too late to snag him up without a fierce bidding war. Following his stellar AHL rookie season, the Latvian shun brightly this month, backstopping his home country in his second go-around at the World Championships in as many years. He sported a 7-2-0 record to go with an incredible .921 save-percentage and 2.20 GAA. Oh, and brought a Bronze Medal back to Latvia, defeating Team USA in overtime to mark the countries first medal finish in its WC history. His stock continues to skyrocket and is quickly becoming one of the organization’s top conversation piece. While it is unclear if he will serve as the backup for the big club in 2023-24, you can rest assured that he will be the go-to call-up option, should injuries arise at any point. Dave Hall

March 2023 – Following a full season of drifting between leagues in 2022-23, Silovs has established himself as the clear starter for Abbotsford and has cemented his status as a promising prospect in the Canucks’ goaltending pipeline. With Mikey DiPietro officially out of the picture, the 21-year-old Latvian has emerged as the organization’s prized prospect in net. In 38 games played (so far), Silovs sits third among AHL netminders with 22 wins (22-10-5 record) and ranks among the league’s top-10 with a 2.48 goals-against average. His impressive season was capped off with a brief five-game stint with the big club, during which he looked comfortable and nearly NHL-ready. Silovs earned three wins during his audition and left Canucks fans and fantasy owners confident in his trajectory. While Thatcher Demko remains the team’s top goaltender, Arturs Silovs is sitting shotgun on the depth chart and could earn backup duties as soon as next season. Dave Hall

March 2022 – In his first full season as a pro, Silovs finds himself in the midst of a three-legged race, as he attempts to steal the crease from his colleagues, Mikey DiPietro and Spencer Martin. With that, he has been handed just 10 starts on the year, resulting in sporadic starts, sometimes weeks apart. While he has shown flashes of brilliance, it’s been a rather inconsistent roller coaster for the young Latvian. In those 10 games, he sports a 3-6-0 record, to go with an underwhelming 3.10 goals against and a .888 save percentage. As mentioned, there are times in which Silovs has shown great potential, which offers hope for future NHL deployment. He will look to the 2022-23 campaign with hopes that the crease becomes less crowded, and he can enjoy a higher start percentage. Dave Hall

December 2020 – While playing in the Deutschland Cup against pro competition from Germany, Silovs slammed the door shut and led his club to their first title at the mini-event. He had a .932 save percentage over the two contests. If Latvia was in the top division at the upcoming WJC, he’d likely be the starter. Cam Robinson

March 2020 – The Latvian netminder had an up-and-down first season in the OHL. He was surrounded by a mediocre team and produced mediocre numbers – landing around the 20th overall mark for most metrics. With his height and athleticism, along with further adjustments to the North American game and way of the life, the recently turned 19-year-old should be primed to push those numbers up in 2020-21. Cam Robinson

June 2019 – The Vancouver Canucks selected Silovs in the sixth round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. The 6’4 netminder was dynamite for the Latvians at the most recent U18 World Championships. While often seeing 40-plus shots a game against the powerhouse nations, he stood his ground and posted a .918 save percentage. He owns good positioning, elasticity, and athleticism. Cam Robinson