Vancouver Canucks need to trade a goalie or risk losing Silovs for nothing
Western Family and the Vancouver Canucks have teamed up to create Bar Down Blast – a limited-edition treat featuring vanilla ice cream swirled with blue ripple and caramel-filled mini chocolatey pucks.
Vancouver Canucks management has an intriguing goalie dilemma on their hands.
And it’s looking increasingly likely that they’ll need to trade one of them.
The Canucks committed to Kevin Lankinen back in February, inking the 30-year-old Finn to a five-year contract worth $4.5 million per season that includes a full no-movement clause in the first two years (and a modified no-move clause in the final three years).
Thatcher Demko, meanwhile, is about to enter the final year of his current contract and is eligible to sign an extension beginning on July 1. But agreeing to term and money could prove to be incredibly difficult, given the former All-Star’s inability to stay healthy.
Conventional wisdom just a few weeks ago would be that the Canucks would enter the season with Demko and Lankinen, giving them potentially one of the best goaltending duos in the NHL.
Arturs Silovs might have something to say about that.
The 24-year-old Latvian is having a sensational run in the AHL playoffs, backstopping the Abbotsford Canucks to the Western Conference Final. Silovs was outstanding again on Saturday, posting a 26-save shutout in a 1-0 win for Abbotsford.
🗣️ARTY ARTY ARTY🗣️ pic.twitter.com/SDm2dvj86q
— X – Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) June 1, 2025
Silovs has a 10-3-0 record, with five shutouts in 14 playoff games and a sparkling .941 save percentage. And Abbotsford is just two wins away from the Calder Cup Final.
Complicating matters is that Silovs would have to clear waivers in order to be sent to the AHL beginning next season, and it seems hard to believe at this point he would slip through unclaimed.
So what do you do if you’re Patrik Allvin?
Will Canucks trade Demko, Lankinen or Silovs?
The Canucks could trade Demko, who has the highest ceiling of the three netminders, when his value is at an all-time low. Doesn’t sound too appetizing. But are Demko’s injury troubles truly behind him?
Should Allvin instead trade Lankinen before his no-trade clause kicks in, despite being the most reliable of the goaltending trio, given recent health and performance?
Or will Allvin trade Silovs, the youngest and cheapest of the three?
Silovs’s stock has been up and down like a yo-yo the past two years.
He had just five games of NHL experience before becoming a national hero in Latvia when he led his country to a surprise bronze medal at the IIHF World Championship.
Twelve months later, Silovs was between the pipes for the Canucks in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, impressing everyone after injuries to Demko and backup Casey DeSmith.
Easy to forget now, but Silovs was Vancouver’s opening-night starter back in October, ahead of Lankinen. He was fresh off signing a one-way contract, giving him guaranteed NHL money, regardless of whether he played in the NHL or AHL. That’s how highly they thought of him.
Silovs was an unmitigated disaster at the NHL level this season, though, posting a woeful 2-6-1 record in nine starts, to go with a .861 save percentage. He was sent to the AHL at the end of November, appearing in just three NHL games the rest of the way. With Abbotsford, Silovs posted a 14-5-1 record with a .908 save percentage during the regular season.
So, who are you betting on?