NHL scout delivers his honest take on Canucks' trade of Arturs Silovs to Penguins - "Pretty good business"

The Vancouver Canucks trade of Arturs Silovs to the Pittsburgh Penguins this summer was a solid one, NHL scout Cam Robinson believes.

In a July 28 appearance on the Simply Spiked Podcast, Robinson of Elite Prospects talked about all things Canucks. In particular, his take on the Silovs trade was a refreshing one.

The Canucks were under fire for moving Arturs Silovs following his fantastic run in the AHL playoffs. Silovs led the Abbotsford Canucks to the Calder Cup, winning the MVP award for his efforts.

However, the Canucks were compelled to trade Silvos for the best offer they could get amid the prospect of potentially losing him to waivers. That’s why Vancouver moved him for a fourth-round pick and a depth player, Chase Stillman.

Despite the negative perception of the trade, Robinson had this interesting take on the situation:

“(For) a lot of people, the gut-shot reaction was - that wasn't a good trade. ... Silovs was not going to get through waivers again. So (Canucks) could have lost him for nothing. I honestly believe that getting a fourth-round pick and Stillman is pretty good business. It's unfortunate that it worked out this way.”

As Robinson underscored, the Canucks were set to lose Arturs Silovs for nothing if he hit waivers. Plus, the way the goalie market has played out for predominantly AHL-level goalies, the Canucks got a great deal out of Pittsburgh.

Check out Robinson’s comments from the 8:30 mark onwards.

Arturs Silovs could play a 1A-1B role with Penguins

Silovs could get a shot at starting in Pittsburgh - Source: Imagn

Robinson made another interesting comment regarding Arturs Silovs’ future role in Pittsburgh. Robinson ventured into predicting that Silovs could play a 1A-1B role next season. That’s a plausible scenario as the Penguins could be looking for certainty in the crease.

The club will bring back Tristan Jarry, who has failed to secure the number-one starting role, this upcoming season. But after the Pens moved Alex Nedeljkovic to the San Jose Sharks, there was an opening for another goalie.

That’s why Silovs makes sense for the Penguins moving forward. While Silovs is unproven as an NHL starter, sharing the bulk of the workload with Jarry could help both goaltenders ease into the rigors of next season.

It’s worth pointing out that Silovs has just 19 games of NHL experience. He posted respectable numbers during his brief appearances in his first nine games. However, his numbers last season were hardly indicative of a top-flight NHL goalie.

So, the Penguins are hoping that last season’s disappointing numbers were the product of a relatively dysfunctional Canucks team. Pittsburgh will be eager to see if Silovs can bounce back and look more like the MVP-caliber goalie he became this past season.