About two weeks ago, we examined which NHL teams might be interested in trading for Arturs Silovs. Today, we’re answering another part of the equation.
What could the Canucks get in return in a trade involving Arturs Silovs?
Why we’re talking about this
First, the why. A few times now, Canucks GM Patrik Allvin has alluded to the idea of trading Silovs, as has Canucks president Jim Rutherford. It’s been a lot of “we’ll see what happens” when they’ve been asked about Silovs.
“Arty is a young and extremely good goalie,” Allvin said in a recent interview. “He was just the MVP in the American League playoffs, outstanding. He’s played at the highest stage for Latvia and will be on their Olympic roster. We’ll see over the next couple of weeks if we carry the goalies to camp or if a decision is made prior to it.”
And here’s an interesting quote from Rutherford from a recent Sportsnet 590 interview as well:
“We have some very, very good young goalies coming. Right now in our development camp, we’ve got Young and we’ve got Medvedev; those two guys are going to be very good NHL goalies someday.
“We’ve got things lined up here. Our plan going forward, right now, is to go with Demko and Lankinen. As well as Silovs played, he could be the odd guy out. He’s not waiver exempt anymore. So, we’re going to have to deal with that here in the offseason, but we feel very fortunate where we are with goaltenders.”
Basically, it’s almost a foregone conclusion that if the Canucks put Silovs on waivers in the fall, they’ll lose him for nothing. Now, there is a chance they send him down early in the preseason in an attempt to “sneak” him through waivers — teams aren’t usually looking for goaltenders that early into training camp — but that’s not exactly fair to the player and doesn’t appear to be something the team really wants to do. Plus, with Ty Young knocking on the door for increased opportunities at the AHL level — not to mention the club having just re-signed Nikita Tolopilo — the Abbotsford goal crease might be a bit crowded as is right now, even without adding Silovs to the mix.
And so the Canucks are at the very least exploring their options when it comes to trading Silovs.
Comparables
Goalie trades are the rarest of trades in the NHL, so it’s always difficult to gauge the market. Yaroslav Askarov went for two prospects and a first round pick when the Predators dealt him to the Sharks, but he’s a blue chip goaltending prospect and was 22 at the time of the trade.
The Florida Panthers acquired Daniil Tarasov from the Columbus Blue Jackets shortly after winning their second straight Stanley Cup. To pull that off, they sent a fifth round pick back Columbus’s way.
If Tarasov — who is 26 and has yet to be able to stick in the NHL to this point while being a fairly average AHL goaltender — can fetch a fifth, what can the Calder Cup Playoffs MVP fetch? If the Canucks were to go the draft pick route in a trade, they’re likely looking at a fourth, and maybe a third if they’re lucky.
Should they trade Silovs?
In a vacuum, no, the Canucks probably shouldn’t trade the Calder Cup Playoffs MVP. But with Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen both locked up long term, there isn’t much room in Vancouver for Silovs.
So should the club run the risk of losing Silovs for nothing via waivers in the fall, or should they take the fourth round pick and run? Let your thoughts be known in the comments section below!
