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Arturs Silovs of the Vancouver Canucks makes a save against the Nashville Predators during the second period in Game Six of the Western Conference First Round Playoffs (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)

Canucks’ Goaltending Depth Raises Questions About Silovs’ Future

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Lukas Bernasiewicz | Last updated Jul 11, 2025 10:15 AM ET

Arturs Silovs had a great finish to his season with the Vancouver Canucks organization. He had an outstanding playoffs with the Abbotsford Canucks by posting a .931 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.01 goals-against average (GAA) in 24 postseason games, and won AHL Playoffs MVP. With his successful finish, he seemed poised to take a step forward in the NHL in 2025-26, but with Vancouver signing Thatcher Demko to a contract extension, his future with the organization is currently uncertain.

The Future Looks Unclear

Silovs does not have a clear future with the Canucks because of the two goaltenders currently ahead of him on the depth chart. Vancouver currently has both Demko and Kevin Lankinen under contract for a minimum of four seasons. It looked as though Silovs was going to get his chance to prove himself with Demko on the last year of his contract, but a big three-year extension squashed that idea. Now he is stuck in a position that no player in professional hockey wants to be in. He is too good for the American Hockey League (AHL), but is not able to crack the NHL roster of his current team because there is no room for him. Situations like that can ruin players’ careers as they are stuck in this position for multiple seasons and are never able to prove themselves at the NHL level because they are not able to.

A chance for Silovs to prove himself at the NHL level at this point seems scarce, but it could still happen this season. Demko has proven throughout his entire career that he can’t stay healthy. From getting injured in the 2024 Playoffs to only playing a handful of games last season, the probability of Demko going down with another injury seems high, since the Canucks have not confirmed if he has healed from his lingering injury. With his injury history, Silovs does have the chance to slide in and prove himself as an NHL goaltender if the chance arises this season. But last season, he took a step back at the NHL level by only posting a .861 SV% in 10 games, which on paper is a horrendous stat line. The only way Silovs can prove to the Canucks that he is an NHL goalie is if one of the two Vancouver goaltenders goes down, and he plays well. Two major factors in this plan.

Is a Trade Incoming?

Could a trade come involving Silovs? In my opinion, that may be the best for both sides. With the goaltender now stuck in this limbo situation within the Canucks organization, he may want to be traded and get another chance to crack an NHL roster on a different team. So many NHL teams could use a goaltending prospect like Silovs on their team. He could even be the backup goaltender for an NHL team right now that does not have a sturdy player in that position. Also, with the Canucks now signing Aleksei Medvedev to an entry-level contract, that adds another wrinkle into the Canucks goaltending future that might push Silovs out of a spot down the road. If Silovs were to be traded to a team that is in desperate need of a backup goaltender, both sides would benefit. Silovs will get the chance to play constantly at the NHL level, and the Canucks could get a useful player, prospect, or draft pick in return.

Silovs has proven that he is too good for the AHL and deserves an NHL spot. But as of right now, with the depth that Vancouver has at the position, it seems like he won’t get that chance with the Canucks. Vancouver as an organization needs to come up with a plan on what they will do with this player because they have an NHL-calibre goaltender playing in the AHL with no plan for him to play for their team anytime soon. Once that plan is made, both parties can move forward and proceed with their respective seasons.