On Saturday afternoon, goaltender Arturs Silovs started his ninth game for the Pittsburgh Penguins, making 23 saves on 24 shots in a game his team eventually lost in the shootout.
For Silovs, it was another strong game, even if the end result was disappointing. Silovs is in his first true NHL season with the Penguins, and he’s making the most of the best opportunity he’s had in his career to this point.
Back in July, the Penguins acquired Silovs from Vancouver in a trade. It was an underrated move in what was a mostly quiet offseason in Pittsburgh.
Despite Silovs coming off of a legendary run in the American Hockey League, where he led the Abbotsford Canucks to the Calder Cup and was named playoff MVP, Vancouver was sort of forced to sell low on Silovs.
The Latvian’s path to the NHL in the pacific northwest was largely blocked. Thatcher Demko, even with his injury history, still occupied the starting role, and Kevin Lankinen had taken that backup/1B spot behind Demko.
So, if the Canucks wanted to get value out of Silovs, they had to take the deal from the Penguins that sent a fourth round pick in 2027 and AHL forward Chase Stillman.
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