Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers castoffs have formed NHL's hottest goaltending duo
Sometimes, you need a change of scenery.
Things did not work out for Artūrs Šilovs with the Vancouver Canucks, and the same could be said for Stuart Skinner with the Edmonton Oilers. The two goaltenders lost the faith of the organizations that drafted them, which led to a pair of trades that landed them with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
For Å ilovs, that trade happened over the summer, while Skinner found his way to the Steel City last month. That means the duo has been together in Pittsburgh for just over a month, and the results have been fantastic for the Penguins.
Since Dec. 30, Skinner is rocking a solid 6-1-0 record and .933 SV%, while Å ilovs has just one regulation loss in his past five games. These two castoffs are now one of the NHL’s steadiest goaltending tandems.
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Skinner's stats since Christmas:
– 6 wins (5th in NHL)
– 1.58 GAA (4th in NHL)
– .933 SV% (5th in NHL)The @penguins are 9-2-2 since Dec. 25 and have allowed the fewest goals against per game (2.08) with the Skinner/Silovs tandem š pic.twitter.com/MkUge3foRV
— Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) January 22, 2026
It’s early, but this might spin a new narrative on these trades from the perspective of Canucks and Oilers fans.
For Vancouver, seeing Å ilovs thrive with the Penguins must sting a bit, especially with Canucks netminder Thatcher Demko unable to stay healthy. Kevin Lankinen, Nikita Tolopilo and Jiri Patera have all been inconsistent in his absence.
Having Å ilovs as an option would likely help the Canucks quite a bit at the moment.
The same can’t quite be said for the Oilers. While it may irk some fans to see Skinner succeed outside of the Alberta capital, the goaltending in Edmonton has actually been quite good since the trade.
Tristin Jarry has been steady with a 4-1-1 record and with the Oilers, while Connor Ingram has emerged as an excellent backup option with a .917 SV% through nine games. In fact, many Edmonton fans are likely happy to see their hometown kid find some success.
The Pittsburgh faithful, on the other hand, are likely over the moon that they were able to pick up two quality goaltenders for relatively cheap.