Penguins Trade For Calder Cup MVP In Goalie Shakeup

Arturs Silovs was buried on the Vancouver Canucks’ depth chart. Now he might be the Pittsburgh Penguins’ most intriguing goalie.

The Penguins acquired the 24-year-old from the Canucks on Sunday in exchange for forward Chase Stillman and a 2027 fourth-round draft pick. It is the second goalie move by general manager Kyle Dubas in recent weeks, coming on the heels of Alex Nedeljkovic’s trade to the San Jose Sharks.

Silovs did not stick in the NHL last season, posting a 2-6-1 record and .861 save percentage in 10 games before being reassigned back to the minors in December.

But the 6-foot-4 Latvian turned heads with a dominant run in the AHL playoffs, where he went 16-7 with a 2.01 goals-against average, .931 save percentage, and five shutouts to lead Abbotsford to a Calder Cup title. He also became just the fourth goalie in AHL history to be named playoff MVP.

“You just realize when the games actually matter,” Silovs said during the Calder Cup Final, as transcribed by Kevin Woodley of NHL.com. “The fans are more active in playoff time. I think that’s what you’re feeding from too. It gives you more energy.”

Stillman, once a first-round pick by New Jersey in 2021, never found traction in the pros. After joining the Penguins in March, he logged just three points in 19 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Silovs’ path in Vancouver was blocked by long-term commitments to Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen. In Pittsburgh, he joins a depth chart that includes Tristan Jarry, Joel Blomqvist, Sergei Murashov, and Filip Larsson — giving the Penguins multiple options and what is bound to be plenty of internal competition heading into training camp.

For Dubas, it is a calculated swing on upside. If Silovs continues trending upward, Pittsburgh could walk away with a legitimate NHL netminder for pennies on the dollar.

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