“Great trade for Pittsburgh”: NHL fans react as Canucks trade goalie Artus Silovs to Penguins

The Vancouver Canucks traded goaltender Arturs Silovs to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, The Province reported. The Pens sent former first-round pick Chase Stillman and a 2027 fourth-round pick to the Canucks in exchange.

As The Province reported, the trade was virtually inevitable, as Silovs’ path to the NHL was blocked in Vancouver by Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen.

The trade set off a storm of fan reactions on social media. While Canucks fans showed their frustration at trading the 2025 Calder Cup MVP, some praised the deal for the Pens.

Here’s a look at what fans had to say:

“That is a great trade for Pittsburgh,” one opined.

“Lmfao fleece?,” another weighed in.

“Recently just helped Abbotsford win the Calder. I like this,” one chimed in.

Meanwhile, some fans raised their concerns about the trade. Here’s a look at what they wrote on social media:

“What is Vancouver thinking?,” one fan commented.

“He has issues saving shots from distance, has potential, but most likely a career backup,” another fan remarked.

“Buddy can’t save a shot through traffic to save his life. Hopefully he fixes that with the Pens!,” one fan posted on X.

Arturs Silovs projects as Tristan Jarry’s backup next season in Pittsburgh. Vancouver, for their part, will look to fill the void left by Silovs in Abbotsford, their AHL affiliate, next season.

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Canucks and Penguins solve problems with Silovs trade

Vancouver sold high on Silovs - Source: Imagn

The Canucks and Penguins both solved a problem with the Arturs Silovs trade. For the Penguins, the deal makes sense. The Penguins had a clear positional need after the team traded Alex Nedeljkovic to the San Jose Sharks earlier this month.

The deal left the Pens with Tristan Jarry and Joel Blomqvist as the club’s NHL-level goaltenders. However, neither proved particularly consistent last season. So, adding a goalie like Silvos gives the Penguins options moving forward.

As for Vancouver, the deal alleviates the potential logjam in the crease. Silovs essentially became expendable when the team signed Thatcher Demko to a contract extension earlier this summer.

The speculation had been that, if the Canucks didn’t extend Demko, Silovs would back up Kevin Lankinen moving forward.

But with Demko extended, there was no clear path for Silovs to the NHL. So, Vancouver, as The Province noted, got fair market value for Silovs. The team ended up selling high on a goalie who has lacked convincing NHL numbers.

As for now, the early reaction is that Pittsburgh won this trade. Time will tell if that’s the case.