The Pittsburgh Penguins made an interesting trade earlier this month, acquiring goaltender Arturs Silovs from the Vancouver Canucks. With the Canucks having goalies Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen locked up long-term, it ultimately made sense that they decided to move on from Silovs. There was just no room for him on Vancouver's roster.
Silovs is certainly a nice pickup for the Penguins, as he is a young goalie who has shown good promise. This was especially the case during this post-season with the Abbotsford Canucks, however, as he helped the AHL club win the Calder Cup and was named playoff MVP for his great play. In 24 games this post-season, he had a 16-7 record, a .931 save percentage, and a 2.01 goals-against average.
With Silovs having such a good post-season, it is unsurprising to hear that the Penguins were not the only team interested in him before they acquired him from Vancouver.
According to the Edmonton Journal's Kurt Leavins, the Edmonton Oilers were interested in Silovs, but the Canucks were not open to trading him to their division rival.
Leavins writes:
"The Oilers had active interest in Artus Silovs in Vancouver. But I am made to understand that the Canucks flat-out refused to deal him to Edmonton. At any price. That is a tough one for Stan Bowman to overcome. It takes two to tango."
With the Oilers needing help between the pipes, it is understandable that they had Silovs on their radar. He was one of the top goalies on the trade market, but with Edmonton being in the same decision as Vancouver, it is also easy to see why the Canucks did not want to move him there.
Now, the Penguins are the lucky team to have won the Silovs sweepstakes. They will be hoping that the 24-year-old will emerge as a key goaltender for them moving forward as they continue their rebuild.
-1750597665-q80.webp "Red Sox Linked To Free Agency Reunion With $79 Million Phillies Star")
-1752078729-q80.webp "Flyers' Matvei Michkov Dishes on Rookie Season: 'There Is No Limit to Perfection'")